Future Dragon: Rose Long Season Three
by Fudogg
Summary: Season 3 of 10. Rose starts working on getting back into shape, while Jake and Daisy find themselves in a dangerous situation.
1. Chapter 1

Future Dragon: Rose Long (Season Three)

**Disclaimer: I don't own AD:JL or any of the characters. Just my OCs and the story ideas.**

Chapter/Episode 1: Husband and Twin

Rose was lying fast asleep on her bed, her marked hand, that was now wrapped in a bandage, was now resting on her human belly. As Rose was fast asleep, her head rolled to the side, she was completely unaware of the door, which creaked as it was opened, revealing Savannah, who was in her human form and fully clothed, smiling.

Quietly, Savannah started to walk over to Rose's bed. As soon as she reached the bed, Savannah leaned over and put her hand on Rose's shoulder. Almost immediately, Rose's eyes snapped open and she gasped, making Savannah gasp as well and jump back.

Breathing heavily, Rose stared at Savannah, and as soon as she recognized the younger woman, she sighed with relief. "Sorry..." Savannah apologized as she started to walk over to Rose again. "...I didn't mean to startle you."

"Savannah?" Rose asked tiredly. "What are you doing here?" As she asked this, Savannah squatted down at the side of the bed.

"Did you get your rest?"

"I was getting it..." Rose answered. "...You know, before you woke me up..."

"Didn't you get any yesterday?" Savannah asked, raising an eyebrow. "You had all day yesterday..."

"Joel kept me up for most of the day." Rose said.

"Well, that's unfortunate." Savannah said as she got back up to her full height by straightening up. "The thing is...I told Cherri that today is the day."

"The day?" Rose asked, raising an eyebrow as she slowly turned her head back to normal. "The day for what?"

"Well, I can see that you can still move." Savannah said, smiling as she put her hands on her hips. "So, why don't you get out of bed and follow me to find out?"

"Can I call my sister first?" Rose asked, slowly rolling her head back to the side. "She's probably worried to death about me. The only person whose worries could rival hers would be my husband."

Savannah just stood there looking at Rose for a few seconds before she finally nodded, smiling. "Yeah." She said. "Okay. Just give me a minute to get my communication device..." As she said that, she started to turn around, walking toward the door.

Rose watched wordlessly as Savannah reached the door, pulling it open and stepping out, closing the door behind her. As soon as Savannah was gone, Rose grunted as she slowly set her palms down on the mattress. Then, she grunted again, gritting her teeth as she slowly started to push herself up into a sitting position.

After about twenty-five seconds, Rose finally managed to achieve the sitting position, so she sat there, panting. Seconds later, the door to the room opened again and Savannah re-entered the room, holding her communication device. However, Rose didn't turn her head to the side to look at her, she just sat on the bed breathing heavily.

"Here." Savannah said, reaching Rose's side. Rose slowly turned her head to the side and slowly lifted up her hand and took the device.

"Thanks..." Rose said as she slowly turned her head back to normal.

Savannah watched as Rose slowly dialed the number into the device. When she was done, Rose waited, but after ten seconds, nothing had happened; neither Jake nor Daisy picked up. Instead, Rose could hear Daisy's voice: "Thanks for calling me. I can't talk right now, so leave me a message. I'll try to get back to you as soon as I can."

Sighing, Rose slowly turned her head to the side to look at Savannah, who lifted up her arms and tilted her head to the side, giving her a kind of shrug. "Again..." Rose said, in a rather disappointed tone. "...They didn't pick up again..."

BLACKOUT

_**2 Days Earlier**_

_The sound of flapping would have been able to be heard if there were any people on the sidewalks. Thirty year old Jake Long landed on the ground in his dragon form. Immediately after, he reverted to his human form in a bright light. As a human, he was no longer wearing the robes of a Dragon Councilor, but was instead wearing his normal unzipped red jacket revealing a white shirt, along with a pair of jeans._

_Quickly turning to the side, Jake could see the house where his wife was staying. "I'm coming, baby..." Jake whispered before he started to walk down the sidewalk._

_Arriving at the house, he turned and started to walk up the steps, finally reached the front porch. Immediately, he knocked on the door, pounding his fist against the door three times. Then, Jake pulled his hand away and took a step back as he waited for the door to open._

_It finally did a few seconds later, allowing Jake to see Daisy's worried face. Upon seeing the look on Daisy's face, Jake's eyes widened and his mouth started to gape open. "Is...Is ever...everything alright?" He asked her, taking a step toward her._

_"She's gone..." Daisy said, her voice practically a whisper._

_Hearing this, Jake could feel his heart drop into the pit of his stomach, his eyes widening as he stared at Daisy. "No..." Jake said, more to himself than to Daisy, shaking his head. "...No. Rose can't be-No!"_

_However, telling his self this was not nearly enough; Jake quickly found himself grabbing hold of his hair in his fists as he squeezed his eyes shut, trying to prevent tears from coming as he dropped to his knees. "No..." He muttered, lowering his hands and opening his eyes as the tears started to roll down his cheeks, only to see that Daisy was staring at him with a look of shock on her face._

_"What...What are you doing?" She asked._

_"You...You said that Rose is...Rose is dead..." Jake managed._

_"No, I didn't..." Daisy said slowly, shaking her head. "...She's gone. Literally. She isn't in this house..."_

_"What?" Jake asked, his eyes widening. "She's...She's not...not here?" As he asked this, Jake slowly started to get to his feet, bringing up both of his hands to his eyes to wipe the new tears from his eyes. _

_Sighing, Daisy looked down at the ground briefly before she looked back up at Jake. "Come with me..." She said, turning around and walking into the house. Blinking, Jake watched Daisy briefly before he sniffled. Then, he started to walk into the house. _

_As soon as Jake was inside the house, he turned around and closed the door behind him. He then turned back around only to gasp as he saw that his young son was running/waddling toward him after coming down the stairs. "Daddy!" the three year old shouted._

_"Jake!" Jake put a smile on his face as he squatted down and held out his arms, allowing his child to run into his arms. Jake then wrapped his arms around his son's back, holding him close. "Hey, how are you doing?"_

_"Fine." Jake Jr. replied. "Aunt Daisy seems stressed put."_

_"Yeah, about that..." Jake said. "...Why don't you go into the kitchen? Aunt Daisy and I need to talk."_

_"Is it about Mommy?"_

_"That it is..." Jake told his son. "...We won't take too long. You can wait for about five minutes, right?"_

_"Okay, Daddy."_

_Jake then stood back up as Jake Jr. turned and started to waddle/run into the kitchen. Jake then turned to the side and saw that Daisy was sitting on the couch, the look of worry back on her face. "Okay, she was gone when you woke up this morning?" Jake asked as he started to walk toward his sister-in-law._

_"I guess..."_

_"You guess?" Jake asked as he stopped right at her side, his eyes falling on the floor, where there was a communication device on the floor, broken into two pieces, having fallen from the table. "What happened with that?" Jake asked, making Daisy turn her head to the side, looking at the device._

_"Oh..." Daisy returned her head back to normal. "...I accidentally knocked that down when Jake Jr. woke me up this morning..." As she finished, she turned her head to the side to look at Jake. "...He wanted to know where Rose is. I was surprised to find that she was gone. I...I did call the police. I had just finished reporting her disappearance when you showed up."_

_Jake just stood in place, an unreadable look on his face as Daisy stared at him. "I'm not waiting for the police to find her." Jake finally said, starting to turn around. "I'm going out to find her..."_

BLACKOUT; COMMERCIAL

BACK TO THE STORY/SHOW

_"What?" Daisy's eyes widened, getting off of the couch as she watched Jake walk toward the front door. "The police will take care of it. I told them about her condition."_

_"You can't stop me, Daisy." Jake said as he reached the front door. As he reached the front knob, he turned his head to the side. "She could be in real danger. I'm going to find her and come bring her home. If anything, her condition might make it easier for me to find her."_

_Daisy just stood there for a few seconds before she finally sighed, reaching over to her left arm with her right hand and wrapping her fingers around her arm. "Jake, come with me." She said."_

_LINE BREAK_

_Daisy pushed open the door to Rose's room and switched on the light-switch as she continued walking in, Jake following her. Sighing, Daisy stopped in front of Rose's nightstand; as Daisy turned around, Jake realized that the bottom drawer was open._

_"What?" Jake asked._

_Daisy said nothing. Instead, she squatted down and reached into the drawer, pulling out a dog-tag attached to a chain with a "J", a "+" and a "R" on it. Seeing it, Jake's eyes widened. "It's...It's here?" He asked, getting a nod from Daisy. "But..." Jake stammered, taking a step toward his sister-in-law. "...She takes that with her everywhere. She...She always keeps it hidden under her clothes so it wouldn't...won't get lost or...or damaged."_

_"I know..." Daisy said as she started to stand back up. "...She wasn't here when I got home last night, so I thought that she had gone out to get some time to herself. When I woke up, I was surprised to see that she still wasn't home."_

_"Do you know if she ever came home during the night?" Jake asked, taking another step toward Daisy._

_"No." Daisy shook her head. "That's why I looked around so see if there was a note or something. And I found this..."_

_Jake just stared at Daisy for a few more seconds before he turned around and started to walk toward the door. Daisy watched with a shocked look on her face, but her shocked expression was quickly replaced with a look of anger._

_"Where are you going, Jake?" She demanded, taking a step toward her brother-in-law, putting her hands on her hips, the dog-tag running down her legs. "Are you leaving your wife yet again?"_

_Jake, who had stepped into the hall immediately froze at these words, and Daisy was quite positive that she could hear him growl. Slowly, Jake turned his head to the side to address her. "I told you not even five minutes ago." He said. "I'm going to go find Rose. She needs me. And I'm going to come bring her home..." Jake then returned his head back to normal and started to walk down the hall._

_"Oh, so now you care that your wife needs you?" Daisy growled softly, narrowing her eyes._

_LINE BREAK_

_Closing the door to Rose and Daisy's house, Jake quickly walked down the steps of the house. Upon stepping down on the cemented sidewalk, Jake turned to the side and quickly started to walk down the sidewalk, a frown on his face._

_Unbeknownst to him, the door to Rose and Daisy's house once again opened as Daisy stepped out of the house, holding onto Jake Jr.'s hand. _

_Completely unaware of this, Jake continued walking, only to stop when he heard the sound of Daisy's voice: "JAKE!" Turning around, Jake's eyes widened as he saw Daisy running toward him, his young son waddling/running at her side as they were still holding hands._

_"Daisy?" Jake asked, his eyes still wide as the now panting Daisy stopped in front of him. "Wh...What are you doing? You should be keeping an eye on Jake Jr."_

_"I'm coming with you." Daisy released Jake Jr.'s hand and crossed her arms. "First of all, she's my sister. Second, I'd actually like to see you actually put her before yourself..."_

_Jake stared back at Daisy with an unreadable look on his face. However, seconds later, he nodded once. "Fine." His tone was dark. "But my son is not coming with us."_

_"But where could we leave him?' Daisy asked, still not lowering her arms; her tone was quite critical and quizzical, like she thought Jake was not only a poor husband, but a poor father on top of it. "I'm not leaving a three year old toddler alone in the house." _

_As Jake could only stare at his sister-in-law, Daisy pressed again: "Tell me where your son can stay, Jake..."_

_LINE BREAK_

_Jake's fist made contact with a wooden door with a number 16 on it. After knocking three times, Jake stepped back in the narrow hallway next to his son and Daisy. Seconds later, the door slowly opened, and Jake could see his younger Haley Long. Haley's eyes were half closed and her long black hair was let down, her bangs came down, partially covering the scar over her eye; she was also wearing a white tank-top and a pair of green boxer shorts with dragon heads on them._

_"Jake?" She asked, her voice a tired, raspy whisper. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with Rose?"_

_"I should be..." Jake said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out the dog-tag, holding it out for Haley to see. "...But she's missing. Daisy and I have to go find her. We'd really appreciate it if you could look after Jake Jr. for a few hours..."_

_"Jake..." Haley said as she brought up her hand to brush her bangs out of her eyes, her tone coming off as somewhat of a whine. "...I'm tired. Because of Sun, Carter and dragon duties, I didn't get into bed until three in the morning. Besides, I've got classes in a few hours..."_

_"That's fine!" Jake told his sister as he reached down and took his son's hand in his. "We won't be but a few hours. We'll be back in time for you to get to school."_

_"Jake, maybe you don't get it..." Haley told him. "...I am exhausted. I need to get some sleep or I'll fall asleep in one of my classes and get in some kind of trouble."_

_"You can still sleep..." Jake continued as he walked his son closer to the door. "...Come on, Haley. He won't be that much of a problem. Right, Jake?" He asked, turning his head to the side and looking down at his son. "You'll be good for Aunt Haley, right?"_

_Jake Jr. quickly nodded in response, making Haley close her eyes as she sighed. "Fine..." She finally answered, opening her eyes clenching her fists. "...But, Jake...if he keeps me from getting sleep, forget Rose's Huntsclan training, I think I'll be the one that slays you..."_

_"Sounds good..." Jake said as he let go of his son's hand, allowing Jake Jr. to waddle/walk over to his aunt. Sighing, Haley slowly turned around and walked back into her apartment, Jake Jr. following her inside. Seconds later, the door closed._

_For a few seconds, Jake just remained in place, staring at the door. However, Jake quickly managed to turn to the side, as did Daisy, so the two of them were now facing each other. "Okay..." Jake said. "...Now that we have that taken care of, do we have any leads? Anyone who might know where Rose is?"_

_Daisy brought her hand up to her chin and held it there, narrowing her eyes as she tried to think. Finally, she brought her hand away from her chin and snapped her fingers. "What?" Jake asked. "You know where we can start looking?"_

_"Your sister's Dragon Student." Daisy said. "Rose told me that he skipped a grade or two or something like that..."_

_"So?"_

_"So..." Daisy rolled her eyes. "...So he attends the college that Rose works at..."_

_LINE BREAK_

_Carter Cromwell pushed open the doors to the campus and started to walk down the steps, reaching the sidewalk. However, before the teen could even make another movement, a red dragon tail shot toward his side and wrapped around his waist._

_His eyes widening, Carter looked down, but before he could do anything to defend himself, he grunted as he was jerked to the side and then jerked back into the alley. Carter grunted as his back collided with the yellow scaly chest of a large red dragon._

_While Jake unwrapped his tail from around Carter, he quickly put his claws over the boy's mouth and put his arm against his neck. Putting his mouth to Carter's ear, Jake whispered: "I'm not going to hurt you. Just...don't run away. I need to talk to you..."_

_Carter glanced to the side to try to get a closer look at Jake, but before he could, Jake released him, and Carter quickly stepped away, turning around with wide eyes to look at Jake and Daisy, who was walking up to Jake's side._

_"What are you two doing?!" Carter demanded. "What the heck was that for?"_

_"I need to talk to you." Was all Jake said._

_"You already said that." Carter crossed his arms. "What about?"_

_"Rose." Daisy said._

_"What about her?"_

_"You know that today is when she gets sick, right?" Jake asked._

_"Yeah..."_

_"Well, she's missing." Jake said. "I arrive at her house this morning and she's not there. What I wanted to know is if you know anything. Did she by any chance say anything to you? Carter, we need to know this. She could be in trouble..."_

_"No." Carter said simply, lowering his arms to his side. "I didn't see her yesterday. I know as much as you do."_

_"What?" Jake's eyes widened. "You didn't-"_

_"Don't make him repeat what he just said..." Daisy told him, cutting Jake off as she crossed her arms, her eyes darkening as she looked down at the ground. _

_Jake just continued staring at Carter, who had an unreadable look on his face, for a few more seconds. Finally, Jake sighed and lowered his head. "Alright." He said. "That's all we wanted to know. You can go now..."_

_Hearing this, Carter gave Jake a quizzical look, raising an eyebrow as well. However, the teen nonetheless turned around slowly and started to walk out of the alley, turning and starting to walk back toward the school._

_As soon as Carter was gone, Jake sighed again as he lifted up his head. Then, he reverted to his human form. As the blue light faded, Jake turned his head to the side to look at his sister-in-law, who in turn turned her head to the side to look at him. "Well, that was productive." Jake growled._

_"Shut up..." Daisy retorted in an exasperated tone. However, she then slowly turned her head back to normal, slowly sliding her hands into her pockets. "...What now?"_

BLACKOUT; COMMERCIAL

BACK TO THE STORY/SHOW

_Jake and Daisy were both walking slowly down the sidewalk, neither of them saying a word to another. Finally, Daisy managed to speak up: "Where exactly are we going?"_

_"I don't know." Jake answered darkly. "Looking for Rose..."_

_"Even though we have no idea as to where she is?"_

_"If we keep looking, we'll find her." Jake said, but then, after several more seconds of walking, he finally added on: "Eventually..."_

_"Yeah, by then it might be too late..." Daisy grumbled._

_Hearing this Jake immediately stopped in his tracks and clenched his fists, growling as he quickly spun to the side, making Daisy jump to the side with wide eyes before she slowly turned around to face Jake, a frown quickly appearing on her face. "What was that for?" She demanded._

_"What's your deal?" Jake demanded. "Do you have some kind of problem with me? Because you sure act like it!"_

_"Oh, do I?" Daisy replied sarcastically, putting her hands on her hips. "Well, let's see: you married my sister and you father her child. Yet, you don't do anything. Rose-your wife-barely sees you. Why? Because you're too busy playing Dragon Councilor." With this, she jabbed her finger into Jake's chest. _

_"Since when do you care?!" Jake retorted. "Huh, Little-Miss-I-Repeatedly-Tried-To-Murder-My-Sister-When-We-Were-Both-Kids?!"_

_Immediately, Daisy's eyes widened and her mouth started to gape, so Jake continued: "Look, I'm not perfect, but I'm doing my best. I care about Rose. I care about my son. So, don't you..." It was Jake's turn to jab Daisy in the chest. "...Tell me that I'm a poor husband and father. I'm trying to balance it out. It isn't my fault that Rose is sick."_

_As Jake lowered his hand, Daisy closed her mouth and inhaled deeply before letting it out. "I didn't say that it was your fault." She told him. "And it's also not your fault that she's sick. I never even tried to imply that..." She shook her head._

_"You still act like a jerk whenever I'm around, though." Jake said, taking a step back._

_"Jake..." Daisy narrowed her eyes. "...You just don't get it..."_

_"Oh, what don't I get?"_

_"I just told y-" Daisy started to say, but she stopped and her eyes widened as she heard the sound of growling. Both Daisy and Jake turned to the side to see three Hobgoblins coming toward them. The one in the middle was the tallest wore regular armor and a helmet and in his hands, carried something. The one to his right was the shortest, who only wore chest armor and a loin cloth. To the left was of average size for a hobgoblin and wore a duster, carrying a club in his hands._

_Suddenly, a figure appeared to drop out of the sky, landing on its feet. Jake and Daisy could now see that the new arrival was also a hobgoblin. The newest arrival also wore armor but had a wizard's cap on its head, as well as long hair that went down the side of the head, looking somewhat like soggy pasta noodles. _

_"Hobgoblins..." Daisy muttered, taking a step back while Jake clenched his teeth._

_"What do we have here?" The wizard cap-wearing Hobgoblin asked in a female voice. "Who are you?"_

_"I'm a member of the Dragon Council..." Jake growled through clenched teeth, clenching his fists. "...Look, I don't want any trouble. My wife is missing and I just want to find her. Please..." By this point, Jake was no longer speaking through clenched teeth. "...Just let us through. Let this end peacefully..."_

_By this point, the female hobgoblin was grinning cruelly. "Shouldn't all dragons know that we are not peaceful creatures? You're trespassing on our territory. We want a fight..."_

_With a grunt, the female hobgoblin jumped into the air and managed to flip backward and land behind the three others as the tallest hobgoblin revealed what was in his hand as he twirled his hand, a click being heard as a blade appeared out of two steel handles that were being held close together: a Butterfly knife. _

_The three hobgoblins then started to charge toward Daisy and Jake. While Daisy quickly turned and started to run away, Jake shouted: "Dragon Up!", waving his arms in front of him, Jake transformed into his dragon form in a bright blue light._

_As the light faded, Jake flew into the air. "Yeah, let's see you punks fight me now!" Jake said, looking down at the hobgoblins, only to have his eyes widen as he saw that the three hobgoblins did not stop and just kept running, heading after Daisy._

_"Huh?" Jake asked, but before he could swoop down, he was forced to look up as he heard a battle shriek. He could see the female flying toward him, having leapt off the ground. "Aw man..." Jake could only say, just before the female hobgoblin crashed into him, slamming both of her feet into his face, making Jake grunt and start to fall back._

_With a grunt, Jake slammed his back against the sidewalk's cement, the female hobgoblin landing on her feet as Jake reverted to his human form in a bright blue light. _

_Now in his human form, the weakened Jake, managed to tilt his head back in order to watch Daisy run. "Daisy..." He managed._

_Panting, Daisy continued to run down the sidewalk, with the three hobgoblins still running after her. With a grunt, the hobgoblin wearing the duster jumped into the air and flew toward Daisy, his duster blowing in the wind. _

_Finally, Daisy's eyes widened and she gasped as she fell forward onto the cement, the hobgoblin with the duster jumping off of her as the tall hobgoblin and the short hobgoblin ran up beside him._

_"Daisy..." Jake managed again before his eyes started to flutter shut. Finally, Jake moaned before his head started to slide back to normal, the female hobgoblin staring at him with her hands on her hips._

_"Wynne!" The female hobgoblin gasped as she glanced up, seeing the tall hobgoblin with the butterfly knife in his hand walking toward her._

_"What?" Wynne asked._

_"Amias managed to get the woman..." The tall hobgoblin told her. "...So...does that mean...?"_

_"Of course." Wynne smiled cruelly. _

_LINE BREAK_

_Wynne was still smiling as she stepped into a rather dark alley. Stopping, she turned to the side to see that Amias, the hobgoblin wearing the duster, and the short hobgoblin dragged Jake, who was lying on his stomach with his head lowered, into the alley by his arms, which were spread out. From behind, Daisy slowly walked into the alley with a worried look on her face and her hands raised up into the air, the tall hobgoblin walking behind her._

_"Now what?" Asked the tall hobgoblin._

_Wynne turned to the side and pointed out to a rather long and thick water pipe that ran up the side of the building, reaching to the roof. "Tie them up." Wynne ordered turning back to face her fellow hobgoblins._

_"Are you going to help?" Amias asked sarcastically. "Or are you just going to slack off?"_

_"I'm not going to do either..." Wynne said, smiling as she put her hands on her hips. "...Just do what you're told, okay?"_

_Wynne then turned around as Amias, the small hobgoblin and the tall hobgoblin started to escort the prisoners to the side of the alley. Wynne walked further into the alley, stopping at a manhole with a plate over it. _

_Kneeling down, Wynne grabbed hold of the plate and easily lifted it up. Setting it down to the side, Wynne stood back up and jumped into the sewer, falling until she landed on her feet in a crouched position in the shallow water. Standing back up, Wynne turned to the side to see another hobgoblin wearing a brown tunic and brown baggy pants, kneeling down in the water, his head lowered._

_"Brytt..." Wynne said, starting to trod through the water._

_Hearing his name being called, the hobgoblin quickly got to his feet and spun around, allowing Wynne to see that there was a bundled up hobgoblin with a brown cap over his head. "He's asleep..." the hobgoblin, Brytt, said._

_"That's good..." Wynne said as she continued walking toward her fellow hobgoblin. "...Brytt, come outside." As she said this, she stopped in front of Brytt. "You won't believe what I caught with the rest of the team."_

_"You caught something?"_

_"Come out and see for yourself..." Wynne grinned._

_LINE BREAK_

_With Daisy and Jake pressed up against the pipe, the tall hobgoblin stepped away Jake, while Amias stepped away from Daisy. Daisy's hands were bound together with chains and her hands were hoisted up above her head as she stared at Amias with a rather scared look on her face. Jake, with his head lowered, on the other hand, had his hands locked behind the pipe, against Daisy's back._

_Without saying a word, the tall hobgoblin knelt down and reached to the side, grabbing another length of chains. He then took the chains in both his hands and started to reach toward Jake's legs._

_On the other end of the pipe, Daisy watched as Amias wrapped another length of chains around her ankles, binding them together. "Wh...What are you going to do with us?" Daisy managed to ask, making Amias look up to look her in the eyes._

_"Don't ask me..." He told her._

_Meanwhile, Wynne grunted as she crawled out of the manhole. Standing straight up, she turned around and reached down and took Brytt's hand as he offered it. Grunting, Wynne took a step back, helping Brytt get out. "Thanks..." Brytt said as their hands parted. "...So, what did you find?"_

_Smiling, Wynne turned around and stepped to the side, allowing Brytt to see Amias and the tall hobgoblin to see the properly captured Daisy and still unconscious Jake._

_"We found these two..." Brytt turned his head to the side as the small hobgoblin walked up to his side. "...They were trespassing..." The small hobgoblin said. _

_"What are we supposed to do with them?" Brytt said as he turned his head back to normal. _

_"That's easy..." As Wynne turned back around, her hands on her hips, Brytt could see her cruel smile. "...We take our time to figure out how we can dispose of them. They ain't going anywhere..."_

END FLASHBACK

LINE BREAK

Turning on the light to a room, Savannah walked into it, where there were several stacked cardboard boxes. Rose slowly entered the room, watching as Savannah stopped and turned, stepping up close to one of the piles, crouching down as she started to search through the boxes.

"Savannah, what are you doing?" Rose asked.

"Just a second, Rose..." Savannah said as she put her finger onto the boxes, starting to count each box as she went up the stacks in the pile. "...This will just take a few-AHA!" A smile quickly broke onto her face and Rose watched with a confused look as Savannah slowly pulled out a small box that was half-way down the stack; Savannah brought her free hand out and put it on the box that was right on top of the box she was pulling out so that the other boxes wouldn't fall over as she slowly pulled her box out.

"What's in the box?" Rose asked, watching as Savannah stood back up and turned to the side, holding the box at the bottom while opening the box with her other hand.

"You're about to find out, Rose." Savannah said with a smile on her face as she reached into the box and pulled out two pieces of clothing.

Dropping the box to the floor, Savannah took the clothes in both hands as she started to walk over to Rose. "Here." She said as she reached Rose, handing the clothes out to Rose. "Put these on."

Slowly looking down, Rose could see that the two pieces of clothing were a plain red cycling jersey and a pair of black running shorts. "Uh..." Rose managed as she slowly looked up at Savannah.

"Here." Savannah pressed, trying to get Rose to take them.

"Why?" Rose asked, slowly taking a step back.

"Why else would I be giving you exercising clothes?" Savannah asked. "Isn't it obvious? Cherri and I have both decided that if you're going to stay and help us find your parents' murderer, you're going to need to get back into shape..."

BLACKOUT; END EPISODE

**A/N: Well, here is the Season Three premiere. What did you think? Did you like it? Tell me what you thought with a review. **


	2. Chapter 2

Future Dragon: Rose Long (Season Three)

Chapter/Episode 2: Back in the Scales

Savannah, in her human form, was leaning against the wall to Rose's new room with her arms crossed. To take her mind off of the time, Savannah glanced up at the ceiling of Mermaid City, looking at the water above. However, Savannah was forced to look down and turned her head to the side as the door to Rose's room slowly opened. Seconds later, Rose slowly stepped out, wearing the plain red cycling jersey and the running shorts.

Slowly turning her head to the side, Rose asked Savannah: "Are you sure about this?"

"Absolutely." Savannah said, turning her head back to normal, starting to walk off. "Come on. Follow me."

Rose stared at Savannah for a few seconds, a confused look on her face. However, despite this, she managed to slowly start to walk after her.

LINE BREAK

Pushing open two large doors, Savannah stepped into the dining hall, stopping only after taking a few more steps into the room. The table was gone, as were the chairs, having been moved out of the room. Instead, Cherri was in the room in her human form, her arms crossed and her head lowered. However, as she heard the doors open, she quickly lifted her head.

"You're here." She said.

"Looks that way..." Savannah nodded.

"Where's Rose?" Cherri asked, lowering her arms to her side and stepping away from the wall. "You were supposed to bring her here."

"She's on her way." Savannah assured her friend, turning her head to the side, just in time to see Rose slowly step into the room. "See?" Savannah smiled as she turned her head back to normal.

"Come here, Rose." Cherri said. Hearing this, Rose waited for a few seconds before she slowly started to walk over to Cherri, finally stopping in front of her. "How are you feeling?" Cherri asked. "Did you get the rest you needed?"

"Not really..." Rose answered.

"Well, you'll be getting that rest tonight..." Cherri said, putting her hands on her hips.

"I will?" Rose asked.

"You're in for a very long day, Rose." Cherri said, removing her hands from her hips.

"I am?" Rose raised an eyebrow.

"Yep!" Rose slowly turned her head to the side as she heard the sound of Savannah's voice. She managed to turn her head completely by the time that Savannah stepped up beside her. "As I told you before..." Savannah explained as she turned her head to the side as well. "...Cherri and i have decided that you aren't in any shape to go on a quest to find a murderer, let alone fighting him, her...or them...when we find them."

"Today..." Cherri said, taking a step closer to Rose. "...You're under our care. We're going to get you into shape again..."

"Maybe I wasn't completely clear when I told you my story..." Rose said as she slowly returned her head back to normal so she could look at Cherri. "...You know, that little story where I told you why I'm not working for the Dragon Council anymore? I'm dying. I'm not just out of shape. Fred Nerk's dragon chi is draining my strength.

"Rose..." Savannah said as she put her hand on Rose's shoulder. "...Cherri and I want to try a little experiment. We have an idea."

"Just give us a chance, Rose..." Cherri took a step back. "...We just want to help you..."

"We can assure you that no harm will come to you..." Savannah promised, making Rose narrow her eyes as she slowly lowered her head slowly so that she was looking at her feet. "...Rose?" Savannah asked, turning her head to the side and looking down. Rose took a deep breath before she slowly lifted up her head.

"Alright..." She said. "...I'll try whatever you've got..."

LINE BREAK

Jake sat in the same position that he had been chained in. Suddenly, he started to groan. However, he didn't lift his head up, until he was drenched in water, making him gasp and jerk his head up, just in time to see Wynne tossing a now empty bucket to the side, smiling. "Rise and shine, Dragon Councilor..." She then turned to the side, in the direction that she had thrown the bucket in, walking away.

Blinking, Jake turned his head to the side, watching as she joined back up with the Hobgoblin with the duster and a hobgoblin wearing all brown that he had never seen before. "Jake..." The sound of Daisy's voice made Jake glance behind him, making him realize that Daisy was behind him.

"...Glad to see you're awake..." Daisy told him.

"Yeah..." Jake said, returning his head back to normal. "...How long was I out?"

"Two days..."

"Aw man!" Jake groaned looking down at his lap. "Man, we gotta get out of this..." He quickly looked up. "...Maybe...Maybe I can break the chains if I go dragon..."

"Yeah, well whatever you do..." Daisy replied. "...Be careful. Your hands are chained against my back. Don't...try anything..."

"I'm married to your sister..." Jake retorted.

"Oh, that makes me feel so much better..." Daisy rolled her eyes as Jake started to grunt, pulling against the chains that held his hands behind him, keeping him against the pole. "...Seeing as how we're identical. Who knows with you..."

With a grunt, Jake simply gave up on struggling. "Okay, that's not going to work..."

"Of course it's not..." Daisy growled silently. "...Go dragon and break the chains! Doing anything else is just wasting time and endangering our lives!"

"Okay, okay..." Jake told her, turning his head to the side to see that the three hobgoblins were al the manhole. The hobgoblin wearing brown had knelt down and was picking up the lid. Throwing it down, the hobgoblin jumped down into the manhole, followed by the hobgoblin with the duster and then the female.

"Are they gone?" Daisy asked as Jake turned his head back to normal.

"Yeah." Jake told her, then he whispered: "Dragon up..."

In a bright light, Jake transformed into his dragon form. However, even more the light faded, Jake hissed in pain. "What is it?" Daisy asked, unable to turned her head to the side because of her arms being held above her, as the blue light faded from Jake's body.

"The chains..." Jake hissed, his teeth clenched, but he quickly stopped as the bright blue light engulfed him again and when it faded, he was in his human form.

"Why did the light engulf you again?" Daisy asked.

"I'm a human again..." Jake admitted.

"What?!" Daisy's eyes widened. "Jake, you're supposed to get us out of this!"

"The chains didn't break, Daisy." Jake said, lowering his head again. "They just got tighter. It hurt. These chains must have unicorn horn in them or something..."

"So...?" Daisy tried.

"We're not going anywhere..." Jake told her, looking up slightly.

LINE BREAK

"Okay, Rose..." Cherri clasped her hands together, causing an echoing clapping noise, as she turned around and started to walk away from Rose. "...What I'm going to have you do..." As Cherri walked toward the wall, Rose watched her curiously, Savannah no longer at her side.

Finally, Cherri reached the wall, and she turned around and leaned against it. "...Is do some jumping-jacks..."

"Jumping-jacks?" Rose asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That's what I said." Cherri nodded. "Why don't we start you off with...say...fifteen? Let's see if you can do fifteen jumping-jacks..."

Rose just stared at the younger dragon, who started to cross her arms. Finally, Rose sighed as she finally gave in. Slowly, she started to bring her arms up, and she managed to slowly bring her legs apart as she planted them on the ground as she clapped her hands together over her head. Groaning, Rose slowly pulled her hands away and slowly managed a jump so that her legs went back together.

Groaning again, Rose finally lowered her arms back to her side. "This is going to be a long day..." She moaned.

BLACKOUT; COMMERCIAL

BACK TO THE STORY/SHOW

Managing to bring her hands back down to her side, Rose's eyes were wide, sweat was dripping down her face and her mouth was open; Rose was panting, Slowly, Rose dropped to her knees. "Ne...Nee...Need to...sto...stop..." She managed, slowly bringing her hand up to her chest.

"Stop?" Cherri asked, lowering her arms to her side as she started to walk toward Rose.

Not really listening to Cherri, Rose slowly removed her hand from her chest and groaned, falling forward onto the ground. Slowly, Rose managed to turn her head to the side so that she wasn't breathing against the floor, just as Cherri stopped in front of her.

"You only managed to do five of the fifteen jumping-jacks..." Cherri pointed out.

"I feel like I did five thousand..." Rose muttered.

"Okay..." Cherri looked up from Rose, putting her hands on her hips. "...Maybe jumping-jacks was a poor starting choice." Then, staring at Savannah, who was leaning against the door, Cherri said: "Savannah, go and get Rose some water."

Savannah simply nodded quickly as she stepped away from the door and turned around, opening it and stepping outside without bothering to close the door.

"Can you sit up?" Cherri asked, looking back down at Rose.

"Maybe..." Rose answered. "...But I don't really feel like it..."

At that moment, Savannah stepped back into the room, holding a plastic cup filled with water. "Well..." Cherri said an she knelt down in front of Rose. "...If you want the drink that Savannah brought for you, you're going to need to sit up.

In response, Rose merely moaned.

"I can help you..." Cherri offered, starting to reach down, putting her hand on Rose's shoulder.

Savannah watched from the doorway with both her hands on the cup as Cherri slowly helped Rose sit up on her knees. As soon as Rose was on her knees and as Cherri leaned back, she could hear Cherri's voice: "Okay!"

Without saying a word, Savannah started to walk over to the two other dragons, finally reaching Rose side. Taking her left hand off of the cup, she held it to the side as Rose slowly turned her head to the side. "Thanks..." She managed to say as she brought her right hand slowly toward the cup. Taking it, she slowly brought the cup to her lips and slowly drank it.

Cherri watched as Rose drank the water, and as soon as she was done, Rose slowly pulled the cup away. "Feel a little bit better?" Cherri asked.

"Yeah..." Rose responded.

"Okay." Cherri nodded. "Rose, look. I think I made a mistake. I think I made a poor choice having you do jumping-jacks first. I think you need to work your way up. How about we start with..." Cherri started to think as she climbed up to her feet, leaving Rose on her knees. "...How about some jogging?" Cherri finally decided, looking down at Rose, who was looking up at Cherri.

"You want me to run?" Rose asked. "Are you serious? Walking is enough of a chore for me..."

"Yes, I do." Cherri said, smiling slightly, still looking down at Rose.

LINE BREAK

Cherri and Savannah were standing in the back of the room together, watching as Rose slowly ran around the room.

Every time Rose lifted up a leg and took a slow step in her so-called "jog", her face had a look of discomfort on it. However, she still continued on, panting and sweating as she slowly managed to turn around the corner, slowly toward the two other dragons in the room.

"How do you think she's doing?" Savannah asked, turning her head to the side.

"She's doing fine..." Cherri said, crossing her arms, just as Rose slowly turned around and slowly started to jog right by them, her panting getting louder. "...But she can do better. She was a member of the Huntsclan after all..."

"Yeah, but maybe we're taking this too far..." Savannah pointed out as she turned her head back to normal, watching as Rose slowly jogged to the other side of the room, her back to them. "...I mean, we don't want to hurt her..." Savannah added as she turned her head back to the side.

"Geez, Savannah..." Cherri moaned, unwrapping her arms and bringing her hands up to her face, running her hands down her face before she dropped them down to the side. "...Usually it's me who is pestering you and it's usually you who assures me that everything is okay, but now..."

"I'm just concerned about Rose..."

"Well, don't be..." Cherri shrugged as Savannah returned her head back to normal, watching as Rose, whose panting seemed to be getting louder still. "...Look at her..." Cherri told Savannah. "...She's not giving up."

Savannah just sighed, shaking her head, just as Rose turned around the corner and started to run back toward the other end of the room. The two watched as Rose continued to run. However, as Rose continued to run, her legs finally gave out and she collapsed onto her knees, hunched over with her hand on the floor as her back went up and down as she panted.

"Oh no..." Savannah's eyes widened and she quickly started to run toward Rose, leaving Cherri with a shocked look on her face.

"Rose, are you okay?" Savannah asked as she reached Rose's side. She passed by Rose's side and turned around, kneeling down, allowing the still panting Rose to slowly lift up her head. "Are you okay?" Savannah asked again, putting her hand on Rose's shoulder.

"I..." Rose started, but she stopped, trying to catch her breath. Finally, as he breath steadied, she finished: ...I don't know. I think so. I...I think I'm done." With a slow shake her head, she added: "I don't want to do this anymore..."

"You have to keep trying..." The sound of Cherri's voice made Rose slowly turned her head to the side to see the other dragon kneeling down at her side, Cherri's head turned to the side. "...Are you really going to give up? What about finding who killed your parents?"

"That's not why you're having me do this, is it?" Rose asked as she slowly returned her head back to normal. "I don't really see-"

"No, Rose..." Savannah shook her head as she took her hand off of Rose's shoulder. "...Maybe we should have told you-"

"We took into consideration how weak your body is because of these fits you have every year." Cherri said.

"We thought..." Savannah continued for Cherri. "...That maybe...maybe...with exercise...you could...get your body...back in shape. Maybe...heavy exercise could help you regain all of, or at least some of, your strength..."

"We thought it was worth a try..." Cherri said.

"Well, I don't really think it's working..." Rose said as she slowly turned her head in Cherri's direction.

"You haven't been working out long enough, Rose." Cherri said. "I exercised religiously for...for..." Turning her head in Savannah's direction, she asked: "...How long was I-How long did I train myself, Savannah?"

"A few months..." Savannah guessed. "...I kind of lost track. Four months, maybe..."

Nodding, Cherri muttered: "That sounds about right..." Then, she turned her head back to look at Rose, who still had her head turned to the side. "See, Rose?" Cherri asked. "It takes a while. I would have thought that your Huntsclan training-"

"That was different." Rose said. "I was younger. I was stronger."

While Cherri just stared at Rose with an unreadable look on her face, Savannah's eyes started to fill with remorse. "Cherri..." She finally said, making Cherri jerk her head back to normal so that she could look at her. "...Maybe...Maybe Rose has a point. She doesn't have to do this if she doesn't want to."

"I never said that she did..."

"What I'm trying to say is that maybe Rose needs some time to think about this..." Savannah said. "...I think we should give her some time..."

Cherri watched, still with an unreadable look on her face as Savannah grunted, climbing up onto her feet again. As soon as Savannah was standing up, she looked down at Rose, who slowly managed to turned her head back to normal and slowly look up to see Savannah give her a small smile.

"Rose, if you decide that you don't want to go through with this, then that's perfectly fine..." Savannah told her. "...But if you decide that you want to continue, that's great..." Savannah then lifted her head back up and turned around, walking toward the door.

Sighing, Cherri got to her feet as well, and Rose watched as Cherri started to follow Savannah out the door. However, unlike Savannah, Cherri stopped and turned around, reaching for the door handle. She then closed the door behind herself, leaving Rose alone in the room.

LINE BREAK

Savannah walked away from the room that Rose was now alone in, not aware that Cherri was running up from behind, stopping at her side, starting to walk alongside her. "I thought we decided that Rose is in no condition to go on a murderer hunt..." Cherri spoke, making Savannah turn her head to the side.

"She's not." Savannah told her before she turned her head back to normal. "She managed to escape from the Underworld, but she didn't put up much of a fight."

"What do you think Rose will chose?"

"Now that she knows that her parents were murdered." Savannah said. "She wants to find the killer."

"Or the killers..."

"Exactly..." Savannah said as she stopped walking. Cherri took another two steps before she realized that Savannah had stopped; she quickly stopped and turned around, facing Savannah. "...She'll be up to this..." Savannah smiled.

Cherri nodded once, but her eyes quickly widened. "What is it?" Savannah asked, completely unaware that from behind, Rose was slowly walking up from behind.

"Look..." Cherri pointed without extending her arm, making Savannah turn around, just as Rose stopped in front of her.

"That was pretty fast..." Savannah said as Cherri took a step so that she was standing at Savannah's side.

"Did you make a decision?" Cherri asked.

"Yeah..." Rose answered.

"And?" Cherri asked.

"I think I'm ready for this." Rose said firmly. "I think I can take it. I'll get back into shape..."

BLACKOUT; COMMERCIAL

BACK TO THE STORY/SHOW

"Okay..." Cherri was pacing back and forth in front of Rose, who was standing in the middle of the room. "...What should you do now?" Cherri seemed to be asking herself as she turned around and walked back over to Rose, stopping right in front of her and turning to the side so she was facing her.

"How about some pushups?!" Savannah, who was standing against the door, shouted as she cupped her hands over her mouth.

"That sounds like good to me." Cherri put her hands on her hips. "Rose, get on the floor and give me some pushups..."

"How many?" Rose asked, almost a little nervously.

"As many as you can." Cherri said, taking a step back. "Hopefully, the more you do, the easier it will get..."

Nodding twice very slowly, Rose grunted as she slowly started to crouch down. Once she was crouched, she slowly placed her hands on the floor and then she slowly started to bring one of her feet back, then the other. Eventually, she was in the up position, allowing her to slowly lift up her head to look at Cherri.

"Go on." Cherri urged her patiently.

Slowly looking down so that she was facing the floor, Rose grunted as she slowly bent her arms, lowering herself slowly to the floor. Once she was lowered, Rose breathed out in relief. Then, she grunted as, very slowly, she started to push herself back up.

Eventually in the up position, Rose immediately started to lower herself again, and as she did, her eyes widened as she realized that it was getting a little bit easier for her to go down. Narrowing her eyes, Rose grunted as she slowly started to push herself, however, just like going down, Rose found that pushing herself back up was a little bit easier.

"I can do this..." Rose whispered to herself, grunting softly as she started to lower herself back down.

LINE BREAK

It had been about an hour, and Rose was still doing pushups. As she pushed herself up, her arms shook from exhaustion, but they were also stronger, allowing Rose to go up much quicker than before; Rose was going up at the normal speed of an average person.

"Hey, Rose..." Savannah said, starting to walk away from the door. "...Maybe you've done enough..."

"You've been at this for an hour..." Cherri said as she knelt down in front of Rose, who was lifting herself up.

"Just one more..." Rose managed to grunt as she lowered herself down onto the ground. After going down, Rose finally allowed her belly to touch the ground. Breathing heavily, she then rolled over onto her back, much quicker than she usually moved, but still rather slow. As she breathed, she could see Savannah stopping right at her feet.

"Wow, Rose..." Savannah gave her a small smile before she looked up to look at Cherri, who was starting to get back up on her feet. "...Did it look like it was doing her body any good?"

"Not entirely sure..." Cherri answered. "...It looked like she might have been moving faster..."

"I sure feel like I was going faster." Rose said, making Savannah look back down.

"She says she felt like she was moving faster." Savannah said, looking back up.

Lust my arms, though..." Rose added. "...See?' To demonstrate her point, she picked her arms off of the ground, and with a speed faster than she had previously brought them up in; Rose held them up in a stance that almost looked like she wanted to give someone a hug.

"Hmm..." Savannah said as she looked up, but she looked back down when she heard Rose's voice again:

"You know, you can help me to my feet." Rose said, not lowering her arms. "My legs are still pretty weak."

"Oh. Sorry." Savannah apologized as she took a step closer to Rose, Leaning over slightly, she offered her hand, which Rose took with one arm, while she lowered the other arm. Cherri watched as Rose slowly got to her feet.

As Rose slowly turned around, she could see that Cherri was smiling. "What?" Rose asked.

"So, those pushups helped strengthen you arms?" Cherri crossed her arms. "That's great. Let's strengthen those legs of yours now..."

LINE BREAK

"Come on, Rose!" Savannah urged. Both her and Cherri were running backwards, both of their medallions jingling all over the place. Rose was running slowly after them. "Keep going!" Savannah continued. "You can do it!"

As Savannah verbally helped Rose, Cherri turned her head to the side and reached out, putting her hand on Savannah's shoulder, letting her know that it was time to turn. The two turned around the corner, Rose coon following them as she continued to run.

LINE BREAK

It was dark outside and Jake and Daisy were still sitting chained up against the pipe. Jake's head was turned to the side, watching as Wynne, Brytt, Amias, the short hobgoblin and the tall hobgoblin sat at the other side of the alley, dining on a line of meat in front of them.

After Wynne reached down and picked up a chicken bone, she looked up and saw that Jake was staring at them. "What does he want?" She growled.

"Why don't you ask him..." Brytt answered as he took a bite out of a piece of corn.

A scowl appearing on her already ugly face, Wynne shouted: "What are ya lookin' at us for, dragon?"

"Ya know, we're hungry, too." Jake told her. "Are ya going to feed us, or are you going to let us starve?"

Growling, Wynne just stared at the prisoners while Brytt turned his head to the side. "Drystan!" He shouted, making the small hobgoblin jump in surprise and turn his head to the side. "Acalan!" This made the tall hobgoblin turn his head to the side while he lowered the slab of meat his was about to eat.

"What?" the tall hobgoblin, Acalan, asked.

"Go give the prisoners some food..." Brytt ordered as he turned his head back to normal, looking back down at his food.

"What?!" Acalan looked shocked, but Drystan simply got up, bending over and searching the area of foot near him. He eventually picked up the smallest piece of food he could find: one cookie. He then started to walk away, leaving Acalan to sigh as he turned his head back to normal, looking down and picking up a piece of corn. He then got up and started to walk over to the pipe.

Drystan was already kneeling in front of Jake, so Acalan stepped over and started to walk toward Daisy. As soon as Acalan reached Daisy, he turned to the side and knelt down, holding out the piece of corn for Daisy, who was staring at the corn longingly, to take.

"You better enjoy this..." Acalan growled. "...Because if I have my way, this is all you'll ever get. This'll be your last meal."

Hearing this, Daisy's eyes widened, making the longing look disappear. "Wh...What are you going to do to us?" She asked.

"I'm not the one you should be asking." Acalan answered, dropping the corn in Daisy's lap before he got back up to his feet. He then turned back to the side and started to walk away. Back with Jake, Drystan got to his feet as well. He then turned to the side and followed Acalan.

LINE BREAK

Back in Mermaid City, Savannah and Cherri, who stopped running, walked back to the center of the room. They both then turned around, seeing that Rose was still standing at the door. "Well, let's see if that helped at all..." Cherri said.

"Come here, Rose." Savannah ordered softly.

Slowly nodding once, Rose slowly lifted her foot up, taking a step. She then lifted her other foot up, taking another slow step. There was a look of sadness on Rose's face, and Savannah's face shared the same disappointment as she turned her head to the side to look at Cherri.

However, Cherri didn't want to give in so easily. Crossing her arms, she said: "Another step, Rose. Come on. You can do it."

Narrowing her eyes, Rose did as she was told. She started to lift up one of her legs, but her eyes widened and her mouth gaped open as it came up much easier and much quicker. Seeing this, Cherri smiled as Savannah turned her head back to normal.

Smiling, Rose started to walk over to Savannah and Cherri at a normal speed. As she stopped in front of Savannah and Cherri, Savannah's eyes were wide while Cherri's smile was even wider. "Fantastic, Rose!" Cherri clapped her hands together.

"But, it looked like it didn't work..." Savannah said, her eyes still wide. "...Don't get me wrong, I'm happy, but-"

However, Savannah stopped as Cherri started to crouch down, reaching out and putting her hand on Rose's leg.

"Wh...What are you doing?" Rose asked, slowly looking down as Cherri pulled Rose's leg up, allowing Rose to bend her knee as her foot left the ground.

"This is great..." Cherri smiled as she let go of Rose's leg, allowing Rose to place her foot back on the ground at a normal speed. Cherri then stood back up again, Savannah turning her head back to normal. "...This means that the exercise is working..."

"I'd say so..." Rose confirmed.

"So, since you legs and arms are worked out..." Cherri took a step back. "...How about those jumping-jacks, now?"

LINE BREAK

With a splash, Brytt landed in the sewers below the alley. In his hands was a cooked fish. Turning to the side, he looked at a sidewalk-like piece of cement at the side of the sewers, where a bundled up hobgoblin in a brown blanket and with a black cap was lying.

Not saying a word, Brytt started to tread through the shallow water to get to the hobgoblin.

"Father..." He said as he finally reached and knelt down in front of the hobgoblin, making the old and wrinkled hobgoblin look up at him with half-open eyes. "...I brought you some dinner..." Brytt continued, holding the fish out, right above his head and upper body.

LINE BREAK

Rose and Savannah both stepped out of the dining room at the same pace, both of them also having smiles on their faces. Stopping a few feet later, Rose slowly turned her head to the side, making Savannah turn hers to the side as well.

"That really worked." Rose said. "That actually really worked..."

"Yeah..." Savannah nodded. "...It did. You'll be in the right shape in no time..." She added as she turned her head back to normal.

"Yeah, but what about my neck?" Rose asked as she slowly turned her head back to normal as well.

"We'll work on that tomorrow..." Savannah said. "...It's getting kind of late." She then took one step and then turned around to face Rose. "I think it's best if we called it a night..."

"Yeah..." Rose agreed. "...I just can't believe that I never thought of this as a solution."

"You're going to go for a morning workout from now until the day you die, huh?" Savannah asked, smiling slightly.

"Without a doubt." Rose returned the smile.

"Good..." Savannah nodded once before she turned around and started to walk away. Savannah managed about ten steps before she stopped, hearing the sound of Rose's voice:

"Hey, Savannah?"

"Yeah?" Savannah asked, not turning around.

"Do you mind if I keep the outfit?" Rose tried.

Slowly turning around, Savannah smiled. "It's yours." She told her.

LINE BREAK

Back in the alley, Daisy's head was lowered as she started to fall asleep. However, she moaned as she felt something rubbing against the back of her body, her ears picking up the sound of chains being pulled against.

Slowly lifting her head up, Daisy asked: "Jake, what are you doing?"

On the other side of the pipe, Jake stopped struggling when he heard Daisy's voice. "What does it look like I'm doing?" He asked. "Me going dragon won't break these chains. So...I'll have to squirm out of them. I don't care what it takes. We're getting out of here."

BLACKOUT; END EPISODE

**A/N: Please review. **


	3. Chapter 3

Future Dragon: Rose Long (Season Three)

Chapter/Episode 3: A Dragon's Regret

Cherri was lying on her side on her bed in her room. She was wearing a Verdigris-colored nightgown, and as she slept, she gritted her teeth, and even though her eyes were closed, she squeezed them shut even more as she rolled over onto her back.

_FLASH_

_A Verdigris-colored hand with claws was holding onto a revolver, pointing it at someone. However, the holder of the gun quickly lifted it into the air and then fired it._

_FLASH_

_A Light Khaki-colored dragon foot made contact with a human body; the human was wearing a black sweatshirt and had ropes wrapped around their upper body._

_FLASH_

_Cherri, in Mermaid City and with a white piece of white cloth wrapped around her right arm, charged, Joel ,in his Peridot-colored dragon form, charging toward her as well. Lashing out with her tail, Cherri slammed it into Joel's chest, making Joel fly back, the chain of his medallion snagging as he flew back, Cherri landing on the ground._

_FLASH_

With a gasp, Cherri shot up, sitting in her bed panting with sweat rolling down her forehead. Quickly, Cherri turned to the side in her bed and set her feet on the floor. Quickly getting up from the bed, Cherri turned around and reached for her pillow and picked it up, revealing her medallion. Setting the pillow down to the side, Cherri reached down and grabbed her medallion.

Holding it close, Cherri turned around and started to walk away from her bed.

LINE BREAK

Opening her door, the now fully dressed Cherri, with tears starting to form in her eyes, stepped outside with the chain of her medallion in her hands. Quickly, she brought it up and over her head, letting it go down her head and around her neck. Cherri then looked out, gasping in surprise as she saw the dragon forms of Gilda, Coen, Joel and Arkadi watching something.

Curious, Cherri started to walk toward them, and once she reached them, she pushed through Arkadi and Joel, standing in-between them, looking out so she could watch Rose, wearing the plain red jersey and the running shorts, running into view.

"What does she think she's doing?" Gilda demanded, crossing her arms as she scowled.

"She's..." Cherri started, but she stopped as her voice got a little choked up. Clearing her throat, making Joel turn his head to the side and look down, Cherri began again: "...She's getting back into shape..."

"Are you crying?" Joel asked bluntly, making Arkadi turn his head to the side and look down as well.

"I..." Cherri said as she brought her hands up again and wiped away the tears again. "...I just need to talk to Savannah..." She answered as she lowered her hands again. "...Have you seen her?" She looked to both sides as she asked this, looking at both Arkadi and Joel.

"We haven't seen her." Arkadi said honestly in his Russian accent.

"She's probably still asleep..." Joel said, turning his head back to normal to see Rose stop running as she put her hands on the sides of her back, lowering her head slowly as she started to walk toward them.

"Thanks..." Cherri said before she turned to the side, making Arkadi step back as Cherri started to quickly walk away.

Arkadi then stepped back next to Joel just as Rose reached the four dragons, slowly looking up as she removed her hands from the sides of her back. Scowling, Gilda quickly turned to the side and quickly started to walk off in the opposite direction that Cherri had left in, not wanting to be in the same area as Rose.

Smiling, Joel turned his head to the side and nudged Arkadi in the side, making Arkadi turn his head to the side. "Your girlfriend is runnin' off." Joel told him. "Maybe you should chase after her. You know..." He added as he turned his head back to normal to look at Rose. "...To make sure that nothing's wrong."

Arkadi narrowed his narrowed his eyes, giving Joel a scowl before he turned around and walked around Joel's back, allowing Joel to smile as he looked down at Rose, who took a step back. "Have you guys seen Savannah or Cherri?" She asked.

"Uh..." Joel stalled, not really knowing whether or not he should give the answer. He even briefly turned his head to the side as he thought about what to say. Finally, he smiled as he turned his head back to normal, looking down at Rose. "How's your hand?" He asked.

Rose's eyes widened at this, almost as if she had forgotten about her hand. Slowly lowering her head, she lifted up her hand with the bandage wrapped around it. "Why don't you take off the bandage?" If Rose was looking up, she would have been able to see the eager look on Joe's face, which Coen could only see, as he was glancing to the side.

"Why?" Rose slowly looked up to look at Joel's face.

"Oh, I just want to see if your hand is healing okay..." Joel said innocently, putting his hands behind his back.

Sighing, Rose slowly lowered her head again as she brought her other hand toward her bandaged hand. Joel looked down with a look of anticipation on his face as Rose started to slowly unwrap the bandage from around her hand.

Finally, the bandage came completely off and Rose pulled it away, finding that the slash marks on her hand had started to mend up. "They're healing." Rose said as she slowly looked up to look a Joel. "Happy?" As she asked this, she started to move the bandage back to her hand.

"I wouldn't do that..." Joel said, starting to reach out for Rose's hand.

"Why not?" Rose stopped moving the bandage back to her wrist.

"Well..." Joel slowly started to pull his claws back. "...You've been wearing it for about a day." He finally decided. "It's got your blood on it. You should get a new bandage. Right, Coen?" Joel turned his head to the side.

"Yeah." Coen nodded once.

Sighing, Rose rolled her eyes. "Fine." She said. "I'll get a new bandage. Can you just tell me where Savannah and/or Cherri is?"

"Great!" Joel's face lit up, and he snatched the bandage out of Rose's hands, holding it up near his neck as he clutched onto it tightly. "Oh, and Cherri was heading toward Savannah's room. I'll throw this away for you..."

"Right..." Rose rolled her eyes. "...Thanks..." Rose then turned to the side and started to walk away, leaving the now grinning Joel to turn his head to the side to look at Coen.

"Jackpot, Coen..." Joel said. "...We've got her blood..."

LINE BREAK

At the door to Savannah's room, Cherri brought her fist up and knocked on the door three times. She then pulled her hand away, lowered it to her side and stepped back, just as the door opened, revealing Savannah, who was wearing her pajamas without her medallion. "What's up?" Savannah asked sleepily, completely unaware of the reddish look in Cherri's eyes.

"Can I come in?" Cherri asked softly. "I need to talk to you."

"By all means..." Savannah took a step back, making Cherri smile slightly as she started to walk into the room. Savannah stepped to the side, allowing Cherri to walk further into the room. Savannah then stepped up and took the door's handle, swinging it so that the door stopped closing when it was only open a creak.

"Okay..." Savannah said as she started to walk further into her own room, Cherri turning around with fresh tears forming in her eyes. "...What did you want to-?" Savannah started, but she stopped when she saw the tears start to roll down Cherri's cheeks.

"Are you crying?"

"Savannah, I'm going through guilt trips again..." Cherri said.

LINE BREAK

Outside, Rose walked toward the door to Savannah's room. As she reached it, she reached out with her hand and was about to push it open, but she froze, her eyes widening as she heard the sound of Savannah's voice:

"Okay, what exactly do you mean?"

Rose slowly turned her head to the side and leaned to the side, putting her ear to the door, just as Cherri spoke: "You know what I mean, Savannah. I'm feeling guilty about-"

"That again?" Came Savannah's response. "Cherri, you just mentioned this yesterday. Every time this happens, I always tell you the same thing. And what is it that I tell you?"

There was a brief pause before Rose heard Cherri's reply: "It's in the past. It's done with. I've made up for what I've done. You forgive me, Savannah. You understand me."

"I couldn't have said it better myself..." Savannah replied.

LINE BREAK

Rose was sitting to the side of the door to the dining hall, her knees pulled up to her chest, looking out at the entire city, watching mermaids mingle with one another, when Cherri, still in her human form stepped up beside her.

Recognizing Cherri's presence, Rose slowly turned her head to the side. "Hey." Rose greeted.

"Hey." Cherri returned.

"Where's Savannah?"

"I'm going to be training you all by myself today..." Cherri told her.

"Oh..." Rose's eyes widened, her tone revealing her to be rather surprised. Cherri watched as Rose grunted, getting up to her feet at a normal speed. Rose gave her a smile as she turned to the side to face her fellow dragon. "...Well, I had some mermaids remove the table so we could start."

"Sounds like a plan..." Cherri said, even though the tone of her voice indicated that she was not in the mood. "...Let's do this..."

BLACKOUT; COMMERCIAL

BACK TO THE STORY/SHOW

Rose was standing in dragon form in the middle of the dining room. Cherri was standing in her human form several inches away, an unreadable look on her face. "Okay." Cherri finally said, taking a step toward Rose. "I think what I'm going to have you work on today is that tail of yours..."

Slowly turning her head to the side, Rose slowly lifted up her tail and slowly pulled it over to her side.

"We're going to work the strength back into your tail..." Cherri said as she reached into the pocket of her pants and pulled out a tennis ball. "...No pressure, but try to hit the ball as soon as you can..."

"What's wrong, Cherri?" Rose asked, slowly turning her head back to normal as she slowly lowered her tail.

"What do you mean?" Cherri quickly asked defensively. "Why would anything be wrong?"

"I heard you talking to Savannah earlier today." Rose admitted softly, an ounce of shame in her tone. "I came by to see if you guys were ready. When I heard you talking-"

"You listened." Cherri finished, crossing her arms.

"Sorry..."

The defensive look slowly left Cherri's eyes; sighing, she lowered her arms. "It's okay, Rose." She said, falling down onto the floor in a sitting position. Rose watched with a surprised look on her face as Cherri brought her knees up to her chest, hugging her arms around them. "I guess you know the feeling..." Cherri said softly as Rose took a step closer to her.

"I'm...I'm afraid I don't understand..." Rose said.

"I'll..." Cherri started, but she stopped for a moment, almost like she was trying to come up with what to say. Finally, she sighed, looking down at her knees before she finally looked back up at Rose. "Have a seat." She said.

Rose slowly nodded once before she reverted to her human form in a bright light. As soon as the bright light faded, Rose walked over to Cherri's side, turning around and slowly lowered herself into a sitting position. "So, what's bothering you?" Rose asked as she slowly turned her head to the side.

"Rose, you might know how I feel..." Cherri explained. "...Your past in the Huntsclan and all..."

"I might understand..." Rose admitted. "...But I still don't understand..."

"It was two years ago..." Cherri said. "...And I was doing bad things-things that I try to repress every day of my life. Most of the time, it's rather easy. But there are other times, like now, where the guilt gets me. Do you ever feel like that, Rose?" She asked as she turned her head to the side.

"Not really." Rose admitted as she slowly turned her head back to normal. "I understand that it's in the past and that it's behind me."

"That's what Savannah tells me..." Cherri said as she too returned her head back to normal. "...Usually, I believe her. Today, I'm not so sure. I've done some pretty bad things, Rose..."

_FLASHBACK_

_In her Verdigris-colored dragon form, Cherri was lying on her back on an unrolled sleeping bag on the floor of an apartment building. Her brown hair was much longer and was in a pony-tail. She also wore an unnaturally long white tank-top that went down to her knees._

_"Cherri..." Her eyes were closed, but she opened her eyes when she felt someone shaking her. She immediately saw the face of a Camel-colored dragon with no hair and with a tattoo of a clenched fist on his chest. "...Wake up, Cherri..."_

_"Barrett..." Cherri smiled slightly._

_"Morning, sleepy head..." The dragon, Barrett, smiled back at her. "...I've got good news. The family of-" However, Barrett grunted as he was shoved to the side, a rather tall Amethyst-colored dragon with green hair that went down to her shoulders stepping up to the mattress._

_"Is she up yet?" The female Amethyst-colored dragon demanded._

_"I was just waking her up, Alabama..." Barrett said as he walked back up beside her. "...I was going to tell her as well, before you rudely interrupted me..."_

_"Tell me what?" Cherri asked, sitting up and turning her head to the side._

_"The family of the schmuck we took off of the streets finally has the ransom we demanded..." Barrett told her, putting his claws on his hips. "...Finally, our work is paying off."_

_"That's great..." Cherri said as she brought her claws up and rubbed the side of her neck. "...But...why do I need to know this?"_

_"Because Dragz expects us to all be there to make the exchange!" Alabama's face retorted with anger. "Which I by the way..." She put her clawed hands on her hips. "...Think is a very bad idea. I tried to tell him that I'm the only one who can pull this off, but he wants all of us to be there..."_

_"Is that bad, Cherri?" Barrett asked. "Do you not...want to make the exchange?"_

_"I'm..." Cherri said as she pulled her claws away from the side of her neck. "...I'm actually a little tired."_

_While annoyance flashed through Alabama's eyes, and she quickly spun around and started to storm off, Barrett's eyes filled with worry as he knelt down, reaching out and putting his claws on Cherri's shoulder, making Cherri turn her attention back to the side. _

_"I can talk to Dragz if you want..." Barrett told her softly. "...If you want to stay here..."_

_Hearing this, Cherri smiled for her friend and fellow dragon. "Thanks, Barrett..." She said._

END FLASHBACK

"See, you didn't do anything..." Rose said, slowly turning her head to the side. "...You just stayed there while your friends collected the money..."

"I helped kidnap the man, Rose." Cherri said, looking down at her lap again. "Besides..." She added as she looked back up. "...I had been with them for a few years. I had helped them pull off other crimes. Not to mention the fact that the next scheme would be my last..."

_FLASHBACK_

_Cherri was sitting in a small circle with Barrett at her right and a Dark Slate Gray-colored dragon at her left. Cherri was facing Alabama, who was sitting next to a Light Khaki-colored dragon who had a joint tucked in-between each of his ears. The Light Khaki dragon had a smile on his face as he counted what was left of the money in his claws; only five dollars left. "Two thousand for me..." He said, lowering a dollar bill into one of the four piles that was on the floor. "...One for Alabama..." He placed a bill on the pile next to his pile. "One for Barrett..." He placed a dollar down onto the pile next to Alabama's. "...One for D-Dawg..." He placed one bill down onto the next pile. "...And one for Cherri..." He then placed the final bill on top of the last pile._

_"Yo, that's two thousand for each of us!" The Dark Slate Gray dragon, D-Dawg, exclaimed with a smile on his face._

_"Very good, smart one..." Alabama rolled her eyes._

_"What are you going to do with your two thousand, Cherri?" Barrett asked, turning his head to the side to look at Cherri._

_"Save up..." Cherri answered as she started to lean forward to grab the money. "...Until I have enough money to buy a nice house..."_

END FLASHBACK

"See what I mean?" Cherri asked, turning her head to the side to look at Rose.

Rose seemed rather shocked by this, but nonetheless, she managed to turn her head slowly to the side to give the girl beside her a small smile. "Look at me." She said. "I tried to slay magical creatures on a daily basis. If I could redeem myself, so could you..."

"Yeah..." Cherri said as she turned her head back to normal. "...Boy, could I..."

_FLASHBACK_

_Cherri was lying on her mattress, staring up at the ceiling. Beside her, Barrett was sitting against the wall, his head lowered as he dozed off. Alabama was pacing back and forth, which Cherri could see when she turned her head to the side._

_However, Alabama came to a halt and she looked at Dragz, who was sitting at a wooden table, his claws using the built in mouse of an old laptop. "What are you doing?" Alabama asked, starting to walk toward her fellow dragon._

_Hearing Alabama's voice, Dragz looked up and turned his head to the side to look at her. "Looking at the layouts of different banks..." He answered, giving her a small flash of a smile before he turned his attention back to the computer._

_"Are you sure we'd be able to pull off something like that?" Alabama asked, putting her arms behind her back._

_"Of course we could..." Dragz answered, not even bothering to look up at her again. "...We're a team of five dragons. We can take on a bunch of humans." However, at that moment, Dragz finally looked up from the computer as D-Dawg closed the door behind himself, walking into the apartment in his dragon form with a paper back in his clawed hand._

_"Where did you go?" Alabama asked, turning to the side, scowling at him._

_"I spent some of my hard earned cash..." D-Dawg grinned at her, turning to the side and walking to the opposite side of the room._

_Frowning, Alabama turned to the side to watch as D-Dawg turned so that his back was to the wall. The dragon then slid down into a sitting position. Still frowning, Alabama started to walk toward the dragon, but she froze and turned around as she heard the chair that Dragz had been sitting in skid across the floor._

_"Well, D-Dawg..." Dragz had a smile on his face, putting his arms behind his back. "...I'm glad you are having fun spending your share. Because you're going to be earning more money. I think I just found a bank we can rob..."_

BLACKOUT; COMMERCIAL

BACK TO THE STORY/SHOW

_"Here it is..." Dragz was standing in front of the laptop with Alabama, Barrett, Cherri and D-Dawg all standing behind him, staring at what was on the computer screen. The screen was all blue, showing the outline of a large building with everything inside._

_"That's the main vault..." Dragz said, pointing at something on the screen. "...There should be plenty of money in there."_

_"Who knows?" Barrett broke off. "Maybe after this, we'll all be set for life."_

_"Hopefully..." D-Dawg grinned._

_"I doubt it..." Cherri shook her head. "...This isn't the biggest bank in Manhattan. There won't be as much money in there."_

_"It's the second biggest..." Dragz confirmed, pulling his arm away from the screen._

_"Why aren't we going for the biggest?"D-Dawg asked._

_"Because..." Dragz answered. "...A couple of years back, some human robbed that bank. The security is much tighter there. This will be much easier for us..."_

_"When are we striking?" Cherri asked._

_"First thing in the morning..." Dragz smiled. "...We make what could very well be our biggest hit first thing in the morning."_

_LINE BREAK_

_The next morning, Cherri was lying on her back on her sleeping bag. Her eyes were closed, but she slowly opened them when she felt claws brushing against her face. Looking up, she could see Barrett staring down at her. "Time to get up." He told her softly. "We're getting ready to do..."_

_Without saying anything, Cherri sat up and then climbed up onto her feet, turning to the side to see Dragz, Alabama and D-Dawg in the middle of the room. Dragz was crouched down, putting lengths of rope into a duffel bag, while Alabama was taking four holstered firearms out of a backpack. D-Dawg was just standing to the side of Alabama, looking down at her._

_By the time that both Cherri and Barrett reached Alabama, the female dragon looked up at them. "Choose a gun..." She told them as she reached down and picked up the very last holstered weapon. Cherri watched as Alabama pulled the firearm out of the holster, revealing a Mateba Autorevolver. Not saying anything, Barrett leaned over and picked up the next one, lifting it up and sliding it out of its holster, revealing a Glock. _

_"This'll do..." Barrett said, making Cherri turn her head to the side. "...Go ahead and pick one, Cherri..."_

_Nodding, Cherri returned her head back to normal and bent over, picking up the next one, just as D-Dawg reached down and picked up the one next to the one that Cherri was picking up. Bringing it up into one of his clawed hands, D-Dawg grinned as he pulled the weapon out, revealing a Taurus PT92. As this happened, Cherri stood right back up and pulled her weapon out of its holster, finding it to be a Smith & Wesson revolver._

_"Dragz..." Alabama said as she reached down and picked up the final holstered weapon, holding it out to the side until Dragz reached out and took it from Alabama. Holding it close, Dragz pulled the firearm out of the holster, revealing a Kimber Aegis._

_LINE BREAK_

_Cherri, Barrett, Alabama and D-Dawg were all standing behind Dragz as they stood on the roof of the building that was across the street from the bank. "Okay..." Dragz said as he turned around to face his friends and his team._

_"How are we going to do this, yo?" D-Dawg asked._

_"I'm about to tell you..." Dragz said as he lifted up the Kimber Aegis that he was holding. "...I have this all planned in my head. Cherri, when we go inside, you are to immediately alert the people inside. D-Dawg and Barrett, you guys round up everyone and bring them to me. I'll deal with them..." As he said this, he kicked at the duffel bag that was at his side._

_"...Alabama..." He finished, making the Amethyst-colored dragon smile. "...When I give the word, I want you to crack the safe."_

_"Got it..." Alabama told him as Dragz turned back around to face the bank._

_"Let's do this." He said._

_LINE BREAK_

_Inside the bank, many people were in lines at the three desks. To the side of the three desks was a wooden gate that if unlocked, would allow anyone to walk right up to the large steel door to the safe. _

_Suddenly, the doors to the bank burst open and Cherri quickly walked in, followed by Barrett and D-Dawg who were holding their guns in both of their claws. Cherri quickly lifted her hand with her revolver in it and fired it, making all of the customers and the employees jump, some even scream before they either looked up or turned around._

_"Alright, all of you together in that one corner!" Barrett shouted as he and D-Dawg walked passed Cherri, leaving Cherri to lower her gun as Alabama and Dragz entered the bank. With all the customers against the wall, D-Dawg and Barrett pointing their guns at them, Barrett turned his head to the side. "Hurry up, Dragz!" Barrett said._

END FLASHBACK

"You really helped them rob a bank?" Rose asked, her eyes rather wide as she slowly turned her head to the side.

"Appalled?"

"Not really..." Rose said as she slowly returned her head back to normal. "...When I was the Huntsgirl, I tried to steal things. It's not something that makes you irredeemable. You even said-"

"Let's not get too far ahead, Rose..." Cherri cut her off.

_FLASHBACK_

_Cherri was standing in the middle of the bank, her revolver handing loosely in her claws as she watched Dragz and Barrett finished tying up the last two of the current hostages. "Okay, that's all of them..." Dragz said._

_"Good thing, too." Barrett smiled. "We're out of rope now..." As he said this, the hostage that Dragz was standing over, who happened to be wearing a black sweatshirt lifted his head up and started to pull at the ropes holding him, only to grunt as Dragz's foot made contact with his stomach._

_"Stop it." Dragz looked down at the hostage. "Just sit tight. We're not going to hurt you." He then looked up at the front desks. "D-Dawg?" He asked, just as D-Dawg stood straight up. "Finished?"_

_"Yeah!" D-Dawg smiled. "These three are all trussed up."_

_"Alright..." Dragz nodded as he turned to the side, followed by Barrett, to look at Alabama, who was holding her Autorevolver in one hand, Barrett's Glock in the other, and Dragz's Kimber Aegis with her tail. "...Guns?" Dragz asked, prompting Alabama to toss the guns back. "Thank you..." Drags smiled as he caught his firearm with both of his clawed hands, Barrett catching his with just one as D-Dawg stepped up beside Barrett, holding his own firearm. "...It's time..."_

_Nodding, Alabama turned to the side and used her tail to slice open the lock of the wooden gate. She then stepped toward the vault. Once she reached it, she smiled._

_"Stay here and watch over the hostages..." Dragz turned his head to the side to look at both D-Dawg and Barrett. He then returned his head back to normal, looking at Cherri, making her turn to the side. "...You too, Cherri..." He said as he started to walk toward her._

_Unbeknownst to any of the dragons, one of the female bound employees rolled over onto her stomach and started to grunt as she forced herself toward the desk. Once she was right under the desk, she rolled over onto her back. She then grunted as she brought up her bound hands toward the emergency button that was under the desk, pushing against the ropes that were tied around her upper body. Finally, she managed to press the button, causing an alarm to go off inside the bank room, making Cherri's eyes widen._

_"What the heck is that?" Alabama asked, pulling her head away from the vault as D-Dawg and Barrett looked around the entire room for the source of the sound._

_"It's the alarm!" Dragz shouted at Alabama, making her turn around. "One of them just called for the cops!"_

_Although she looked to be at first shocked, the anger that quickly spread onto Alabama's face was undeniable. Turning to the side, she pointed her Autorevolver at the three bound employees who were lying on the floor. "It had to be one of them!" Alabama growled. "We should kill all three of them!"_

_"There's no time!" Dragz reached out, grabbed her scaly arm , and forced it down before he turned around. "We have to get out of here!"_

_Alabama turned her head to the side to see that Dragz, Cherri, D-Dawg and Barrett were all hurrying toward the door. Quickly, Alabama turned her head back to normal to look at the three employees who were being held hostage. However, instead of raising her Autorevolver, she just growled in anger before she quickly turned to the side, starting to hurry for the exit._

_LINE BREAK_

_By the time that Alabama exited the bank, she could see that Cherri, D-Dawg and Barrett were all standing behind Dragz. "There you are!" Dragz said, a hint of relief in his tone. "Come on. We've got to get out of here..."_

_He then turned to the side, facing the road. He flared his wings, but before he could take off, he froze as he heard the sound of sirens. Seconds later, all five of the dragons could see three police cruisers speeding toward them._

_"Already?!" Dragz's eyes widened. "Come on! Time to fly!"_

_As the cars screeched to a halt, the five dragons started to fly into the air. Getting out of the cars, three police officers reached for their belts and pulled out their firearms, pointing them up at the sky. "POLICE! FREEZE!" Shouted the officer standing outside the car in the middle of the street, Officer Morton Senior._

_Cherri was flying in the back of the team, and as three consecutive BANGS rang out, Cherri's eyes widened and she gasped as a bullet sped by, grazing her right arm, making her jerk to the side and drop her revolver to the ground._

_Higher in the air, Barrett stopped in his tracks when he heard the gunshots, while the others continued on._

_Below on the ground, one of the police officers opened up the trunk to his cruiser, revealing a black canon-like weapon that was in an open box. Reaching in, the police officer grunted as he pulled the heavy weapon out._

_"Fire!" Officer Morton Sr. shouted as he stayed at his car door. "We've managed to stop two of them. Force them into their human forms!"_

_Back in the air, Barrett put his hand on the shoulder of the wounded arm of Cherri, whose eyes were wide, the two of them just staying in place. "They shot me..." Cherri muttered._

_"It's okay..." Barrett said as he looked up from her bleeding arm so he could look at her. "...It's not bad. It just grazed your scales. With some bandages, you'll be perfectly fine. We just need to escape first..." Turning his head back to normal, he pushed Cherri forward gently, getting her to slowly flap her wings and move forward._

_"...Thatta girl..."_

_Back on the ground, the police officer managed to get the weapon on his shoulder, Closing on eye, he fired, shooting out a light, sky-blue orb of light which shot out, flying toward Cherri and Barrett._

_Smiling, Barrett slowly started to fly after Cherri, but he only grunted as the blue light hit him from behind. Gasping, Cherri turned around to see swirls of blue completely engulfing Barrett. _

_"BARRETT!" Cherri's eyes widened._

_The light quickly faded, and when it did, Barrett was in his human form, starting to fall down to the ground. Gasping, Barrett tried to reach out for Cherri's foot, but he was falling too quickly; missing, he fell._

_Grunting, Barrett's fall ended as his back collided with the ground. Groaning as he rolled over onto his stomach, he started to push himself up onto his knees, but as he looked up, he could see Officer Morton Sr. running toward him with his gun drawn and pointed as he pulled the handcuffs from his belt._

_Her eyes wide, Cherri was looking down, watching as Morton Sr. forced Barrett to his feet and started to walk him toward the car. "Barrett..." Cherri moaned, looking up, only to gasp as she saw another light blue orb of light coming out of the weapon, coming right toward her._

_Thinking quickly, Cherri opened her mouth and blew out a torrent of fire, which managed to consume the orb of bright blue light. Closing her mouth, the fire vanished, and Cherri could see that the orb had vanished as well._

_Quickly, Cherri turned around and flapped her wings repeatedly, escaping from the scene of the crime._

BLACKOUT; END EPISODE

**A/N: What did you think? Please review. Yeah, the idea for Dragz having joints was to more or less imply that Cherri did some other bad things earlier in her past.**


	4. Chapter 4

Future Dragon: Rose Long (Season Three)

Chapter/Episode 4: Cherri's Redemption

_Back at the apartment building, Cherri was sitting by the window, while Dragz was kneeling down in front of her and Alabama was pacing back and forth in the middle of the room. Hissing, Cherri managed to pull off the unnaturally long tank-top. Dropping it onto her lap, Cherri slowly reached down and took the tank-top with both of her claws. Narrowing her eyes, Cherri tore off a long strip of the cloth._

_"Need help with that?" Dragz quickly asked._

_"I got it..." Cherri said as she held out her scaly arm. Dragz watched, his eyes widening as Cherri put one end of the strip in her mouth as she used her other hand to wrap it around her arm._

_LINE BREAK_

_Up on the roof, D-Dawg was standing. He was staring down at the streets, watching all the passerby's with a smile on his face. However, as he continued to look down on the streets, he could see one of the police cruisers speeding up to the building, coming to a screeching halt._

_"Oh, crap..." D-Dawg groaned as his smile vanished completely. "...They followed us!"_

_Continuing to stare down, he could see the next police cruiser speeding up to the first one, coming to a screeching halt right beside it. As the second one stopped, D-Dawg turned his head to the side and could see the third and final police cruiser coming down the street, quickly coming to a quick stop right next to the other two police cruisers._

_LINE BREAK_

_"Whoo..." Cherri sighed as she lowered her arm after wrapping it up. _

_"Feeling better?" Dragz asked._

_"I think the shock is starting to wear off..." Cherri said, glancing down at her arm. "...My brain is starting to recover from the surprise." She managed a pained smile as she returned her gaze back at Dragz. "It hurts a little bit more..."_

_"It doesn't look bad..." Dragz said._

_"I guess not..."_

_"So..." Dragz's expression darkened. "...Barrett was captured?" As he asked this, he stood back up onto his feet. He started to open his mouth again, but before he could even form one word, his eyes widened as he heard the sound of a gun going off._

_LINE BREAK_

_On the roof, D-Dawg had both of his clawed hands on his weapon, firing another shot down at the police officers that were getting out of the cruisers. "I wish I had another gun..." D-Dawg muttered to himself as he took three more shots from his gun._

_This seemed to get the attention of the cops below, for as D-Dawg looked back down at the cops, he could see that their guns were raised, and they fired at him. "Whoa!" He exclaimed as he jumped back, miraculously missing the bullets._

_Growling, D-Dawg took another step so that he was looking down right at the police and he quickly aimed his firearm. However, from below, the police officers fired before he could..._

_LINE BREAK_

_Dragz was just staring at the window with wide eyes, completely unaware of Alabama, who was walking up right beside him. "What is going on out there?" She demanded._

_Without saying a word, Dragz started to walk over to the window. As soon as he reached it, he crouched down right next to Cherri, who turned her head to the side to look at him. With a confused look on his face, Dragz stared out the window, only to gasp and jerk his head back as a flash of Dark Slate Gray fell from above and continued to fall to the ground._

_"They got him!" Dragz eyes widened as Cherri's eyes filled with worry. "They got D-Dawg!" He then got to his feet and took a step back, Cherri returning her head back to normal as Dragz turned around. "Alabama, gun!" Dragz held his hand out, allowing Alabama to toss him his Kimber Aegis. _

_Catching it with one hand, Dragz used his other hand to point at Alabama, who had wide and worried eyes, just like Cherri. "I need you to stay and guard the door. If it opens, pump the opener with bullets!"_

_Nodding, Alabama turned around and looked at the door, straightening out her arm, aiming her weapon at the door. Meanwhile, Dragz turned back around and walked back over to the window, actually sticking his head out and looking down, only to see that the police officers were gone. Ge could only see D-Dawg's dragon form lying lifelessly on the sidewalk._

_"They're in..." Dragz said as he pulled his head back in, turning around. "...They'll probably be here in a minute or two. This is it..." He said after he took a breath._

_"What's that supposed to mean?" Alabama asked, turning her head to the side._

_"I think we're about to go down..." Dragz said as he brought his arm up, aiming his Kimber Aegis at the door as well. "...But at least...we all go out together. Right, Cherri?" He asked, turning his head to the side, only to see that Cherri was still sitting, unarmed. _

_"Cherri..." Dragz's eyes were wide as he turned around to look at her. "...Where's your gun?"_

_"Dropped it..." Cherri said honestly._

_"Cherri..." Dragz shook his head slowly. "...You've got to get out of here. You'll be massacred. At least Alabama and I will have a chance. Cherri, get out of here."_

_"But-"_

_"Just go." Dragz said, just as the door to the room burst open, three cops, including Officer Morton Senior, entering with their guns aimed. "GO!" Dragz shouted, whirling around and pointing his Kimber Aegis at the cops. Quickly, Cherri got to her feet and turned, jumping out the window. Cherri immediately started to fly away, but she froze and her eyes widened when she heard the sound of rapid gunshots. _

END FLASHBACK

"That's so sad..." Rose said with wide eyes, slowly turning her head to the side as Cherri lowered her head yet again.

"I never saw them again..." Cherri said as she lifted her head again. "...I can only imagine that the police got both of them."

"But how did you get here?" Rose asked.

_FLASHBACK_

_Cherri continued to flap her wings as she flew through the air. Looking down at the ground hundreds of feet below, she found and building roof right below her. Quickly, she dived down and landed on the roof. "I guess here's a good place to sleep..." She muttered to herself as she walked down the roof, looking both ways._

_LINE BREAK_

_The sun had completely gone down and Cherri was lying on her side on the roof. However, her entire body was tense and her teeth were clenched. Finally, she opened her eyes, groaning as she sat up. Turning her head both ways, she moaned. "Okay, this is not the place to be sleeping..." _

_Cherri then groaned as she rolled over so that she was hunched over on her knees. Grunting, she then climbed to her feet. "...I need shelter..."_

_LINE BREAK_

_Folding her wings as she landed on the sidewalk, Cherri looked both ways before she started to walk down the street. "I hope no one sees me..." Cherri muttered to herself. _

END FLASHBACK

"Over a year, Rose..." Cherri said as she turned her head to the side again. "...Only eleven months ago, I was living on the streets, diving and hiding into alleys every time I thought I heard cop sirens. Whenever I felt that the coast was clear. Believe it or not, it took me about thirteen months to make it to that dock." She pointed up.

"That's how you got here..."

"More or less..." Cherri returned her head back to normal. "...But by that time, I was exhausted. I was tired of being on the run, I was tired of not having enough to eat. I had not gotten a good night's sleep in months. I just...collapsed..."

_FLASHBACK_

_Cherri's steps were slow as she stepped onto the dock in the moonlight. Her hair was much longer and was tangled; she also still wore the make-shift bandage around her arm. Slowly turning her head in both ways, Cherri groaned in exhaustion as she returned her head back to normal. Lowering her head, Cherri took two more slow steps._

_Groaning again, she tried to lift her head up again as she lifted one of her legs up, but instead, she just moaned as she fell face-first onto the dock, grunting as she hit it. With her head to the side, Cherri closed her eyes, falling asleep._

BLACKOUT; COMMERCIAL

BACK TO THE STORY/SHOW

_Groaning, Cherri opened her eyes to find that the sun was out. Moaning, Cherri pushed herself slowly to her knees. She could see that she was on the dock, and she could also see that no one else was on the dock. _

_Grunting, Cherri climbed to her feet. However, just as she did that, she gasped as water sprayed up and splashed against the front of the wooden dock. Curious, Cherri slowly started to walk toward the end od of the dock, only to stop as two other dragons, one in front of the other seemed to be elevated up to the dock, both of them stepping onto the dock, the one that was behind the first dragon took their time to step up to the first dragon's side._

_Cherri quickly took this time to look at the dragons. The one that had been in the back was a much smaller Tangerine-colored dragon with short red hair. The second, the one that Cherri had seen first, was a taller Heliotrope-colored dragon with what looked like a wooden leg. As they started to walk toward her, Cherri could see that they both wore medallions, but the Heliotrope dragon also wore a cross._

_"I don't understand why you're coming with me..." Said the Tangerine dragon in a rather whiny voice._

_"It's time for your first outing, Lista..." The Heliotrope dragon told her, turning her head to the side. "...I'm just here to guide you..."_

_"You don't have to baby me!" The Tangerine dragon, Lista, whined, making the Heliotrope dragon turn her head back to normal. However, she only gasped, as they were close enough to Cherri to notice her now. "Who's that?" Lista asked._

_"I don't know..." The Heliotrope dragon said as they continued to walk toward her. Cherri just stood in place, blinking as the two dragons stopped in front of her. "...Hey, are you okay?" The Heliotrope dragon asked._

_"She looks awful..." Muttered Lista._

_"Hey..." The Heliotrope dragon said softly, snapping her claws right in Cherri's face, making her blink again. "...You're right, Lista." She said as she turned her head to the side, lowering her arm. "She does look awful."_

_"Do you have a name?" Lista quickly asked._

_Cherri blinked again before she managed to open her mouth. "Yes...?" Lista goaded. _

_"Ch...Che...Cherri..." Cherri finally managed, taking a step back that almost seemed like a stumble. _

_"You look like you haven't eaten or slept in days..." The Heliotrope dragon said._

_"Mo...More like months..." Cherri replied._

_"You haven't slept or eaten in months?" Lista asked, raising an eyebrow. "Wouldn't you be like...dead if that was the case?"_

_"I think she means she hasn't had that much to eat..." The Heliotrope dragon said, turning her head to the side to look at Lista. She then turned her head back to normal so she could look at Cherri. "...Let us help you..." She said as she held out her clawed hand._

_Cherri just stared at the two dragons, finally glancing down at the Heliotrope dragon's claws. "How?" She asked, glancing back up._

_LINE BREAK_

_Cherri had her head turned and was looking out at the water from the submarine bubble that she was in. "Hey..." She turned her head around when she heard the sound of the Heliotrope dragon's voice. "...This is Lista." She said as she pointed to the side, Lista turning her head to the side and giving a nod. "And I'm Angela..." She finished, offering out her other clawed hand. "...Nice to meet you, Cherri."_

_Cherri just stared at Angela for a few seconds before she slowly reached over and took Angela's claws._

END FLASHBACK

"That was nice of Angela..." Rose said as she slowly returned her head back to normal.

"Angela was without a doubt the kindest dragon I've ever met..." Cherri said sadly. "...It's horrible-what happened to her."

"Yeah..." Rose agreed. "...She was, wasn't she?"

"Well..." Suddenly, a rather fond smile appeared on Cherri's face and she turned her head to the side to look at Rose, who slowly turned her head back to the side as well. "...If you thought she was nice before, wait until you hear about what happened next..."

_FLASHBACK_

_The elevator doors slid open and Angela was the first to walk out, followed by both Cherri and Lista, who both reached Angela's side. Smiling and turning her head to the side, Angela said: "Come on..."_

_The three dragons started to walk away from the elevators and they soon started to approach a few mermaids that were mingling with one another. The three dragon passed them and started to walk toward a large building._

_As they finally reached it, Angela started to reach for the door knob, only to gasp and jump back as the door opened, Savannah stepping out in her Bondi Blue dragon form, her medallion dangling around her neck, stepping out. When Savannah saw Angela, her eyes widened._

_"You're back?" She asked, taking a step back before she glanced to the side, seeing Cherri. Lifting up her claws, she asked: "Who's this?"_

_"Her name is Cherri." Angela explained. "Lista and I found her on the docks. I'm sorry if I let you down, but she looks pretty bad. I thought we could bring her down here and fix her up something to eat. Then I could take Lista back out..."_

_Although Savannah seemed rather taken aback by this, she soon smiled and crossed her arms. "Always thinking about others, Angela..." She said. "...I'm sure Lono will understand..."_

_LINE BREAK_

_Cherri was sitting at the table looking down at the plate of food in front of her. She looked up as she heard the doors opening again and she turned her head to the side to see a Carmine-colored dragon entering alongside a Peridot-colored dragon. Following them inside was a Sapphire-colored dragon. All three of them were also wearing medallions._

_Cherri watched as the three dragons walked over to Savannah, Angela and Lista, who were all leaning against the wall, staring at Cherri._

_"They came back?" Asked the Peridot dragon as the Sapphire dragon walked up to his side._

_"Kind of..." Savannah said as she turned her head to the side._

_"Lono sent me to go on my first solo mission, and this is what I find..." Lista said, pointing at Cherri, making Cherri's eyes widen as the Peridot, the Carmine and the Sapphire dragon all turned to the side to look at her. _

_"Who is she?" Asked the Sapphire dragon._

_"Her name is Cherri..." Angela said as she stepped away from the wall, starting to walk over to the table. "...I know nothing else about her."_

_"Now seems like a good time to find out." The Peridot dragon said._

_"Hey, Cherri..." Angela smiled as she slowly sat down on the opposite end of the table as Cherri. "...Do you mind telling us what happened? Are you homeless? What's with the cloth around your arm? Do you...need a place to stay?"_

_Swallowing, Cherri slowly opened her mouth. "Can I ask a question?" She asked._

_"Sure." Angela nodded._

_"What's with the necklaces?"_

_"Uh..." Angela started, but before she could finish, Savannah took over, starting to walk away from the wall and toward the table._

_"I can answer that." She said. "They are medallions that all members of the team wear."_

_"The team?" Cherri asked, a hint of nervousness in her tone._

_"Essentially..." Savannah stopped right at the side of the still smiling Angela. "...Me, Angela..." She pointed down at Angela. "...Lista, Joel, Coen, Lexy, and..." She suddenly faltered as she turned her head to the side. "...Do you guys know where Gilda, Arkadi and Maverick are?"_

_"They're somewhere..." The Sapphire dragon said._

_"Okay..." Savannah seemed to accept this as she turned her head back to normal. "...All of us are a member of a team. We are essentially the Anti-Dragon Council." As she said this, Cherri's eyes widened in fear. "I attend the local college to see if I can learn of any strange happenings in the Magical World."_

_As Savannah continued, Cherri slowly started to get up from her bench seat, her eyes still wide. "Still, though..." Savannah seemed completely oblivious to what Cherri was doing, continuing to talk as she took off her medallion, holding it in her clawed hand. "...I don't hear of much. Shame really. However-"_

_"Hey, where are you going?" Angela asked, turning her head to the side as she watched Cherri quickly started to walk toward the exit._

_"Where are you going?" Savannah asked as she turned to the side, making Cherri stop in her tracks. "What are you doing? Jeez, you're acting like you've committed some great crime or something..."_

_Without turning around, Cherri's eyes widened and she could feel the sweat starting to form on her forehead. _

_"Maybe that's exactly what she's done..." Joel suggested, narrowing his eyes._

_A gasp escaping her lips, Cherri started to try to make a break for it, but Lexy flared her wings and lunged, flying toward Cherri, quickly landing in front of her. "Hey!" She exclaimed, just as Cherri whirled around, wrapping her tail around Lexy's waist and putting her arm around Lexy's neck, forcing the Sapphire-colored dragon up against her._

_"He-Hey!" Lexy shouted, her eyes widening. "Let me go!"_

_"Listen to her!" Angela shouted, getting up from her seat and facing Cherri, who was starting to walk out the door. "She doesn't like to be touched!"_

_"And I don't like being chased." Cherri retorted. "Take the hint!"_

_"Pl...Please..." Lexy begged as she was dragged back. "...Please listen to Angela. She's right. Pl...Please..."_

_Quickly, Cherri listened to the Sapphire-colored dragon, unwrapping her tail and sliding her arm away from her neck. Then, she turned and as Lexy collapsed on her knees, moaning as she held out her arms and limp wrists, Cherri turned around and ran._

BLACKOUT; COMMERCIAL

BACK TO THE STORY/SHOW

_The mermaids who were mingling with each other all looked up and turned their heads to the side as they head Cherri's panting. Running passed them, Cherri turned her head to the side to see if she was being followed. Seeing that she wasn't, she returned her head back to normal._

_However, as she did that, she gasped as she saw two dragons: one Deep Peach-colored dragon and one Gamboge-colored dragon. Both wore the same medallions and both were only a few inches away from her, both of them looking like they didn't know if she was going to stop or not._

_Cherri tried to stop, but she was going too fast. Both her and the Deep Peach dragon grunted as they collided, but while Cherri only stumbled back, the Deep Peach dragon fell back into a sitting position. "Hey, what the-?" The Deep Peach dragon started, but Cherri completely ignored her, running to the side and passing them._

_Ahead of her, Cherri could see the elevator doors, and she allowed herself to smile with relief. However, as she got closer, she could hear the sound of flapping wings. Her eyes widening, Cherri turned her head to the side. However, no one was following her. Turning her head back to normal, Cherri prepared to reach out for the buttons that would open the elevator doors, only to instead gasp in shock as the Bondi Blue dragon landed right in front of her_

_Stopping right in front of her, Cherri's eyes were wide as she panted, while Savannah crossed her arms. "I haven't been on this team too long, and now you've become my first major threat..."_

_"I don't want to fight..." Cherri took a step back. "...Just let me be on my way..."_

_"I can't do that..." Savannah shook her head twice as she lowered her scaly arms. "...You attacked one of my comrades and now you try to escape. You did something terrible, didn't you?"_

_"I-"_

_"Just come out and say it." Savannah said. "I won't let you escape and the rest of the team won't let you escape..."_

_As Savannah said this, Cherri could hear the sound of more sets off flapping wings. Whirling around, Cherri gasped as she saw Angela, Lista, the Peridot-colored dragon, the Deep Peach-colored dragon, the Gamboge-colored dragon, the Carmine-colored dragon and a Russet-colored dragon that she didn't recognize._

_"Don't make us fight you!" Angela shouted. "Let us help you."_

_"Help?" The Peridot dragon turned his head to the side quickly before he turned his head back so her could look at Cherri. "Why should we help her? She's done wrong! Does she really deserve help?"_

_"Not to mention Lexy..." The Russet dragon replied._

_Growling, The Peridot dragon jumped off of his feet, starting to fly toward Cherri. Quickly, Cherri lifted herself into the air and started to fly toward her attacker, leaving behind a rather surprised Savannah. Lashing out with her tail, Cherri hit the Peridot-colored dragon, sending him flying back, his medallion snagging on its chain before following the dragon._

_Cherri quickly landed on the grass, but she grunted as Savannah tackled her from behind. Managing to roll over, Cherri looked up at Savannah, who was holding her down. Quickly, Cherri opened her mouth and blew out a ball of fire. Savannah's eyes widened and she quickly reached up and put her hands over her face, shielding it as she was blasted back._

_Quickly Cherri flared her wings and flew into the air, turning around just in time to see the Peridot, the Gamboge, the Russet and the Carmine dragons all charging for her, leaping off of the ground and flying up._

_Her eyes wide, Cherri looked up and saw the top of the "bubble" that the entire city was contained under. Looking back down, she started to fly toward it, looking back up and opening her mouth to blow out fire. However, just as the fire started to come out of her mouth, it vanished as she closed her mouth, grunting as the Peridot dragon slammed into her belly._

_Cherri was knocked back, and as she managed to stop herself, the Gamboge dragon, the Carmine dragon and the Russet dragon all flew up from below her; the Carmine dragon and the Russet dragon both grabbed her legs, while the Gamboge dragon grabbed her tail. Then, all three dragons started to descend, taking Cherri with them, making the Verdigris dragon grunt as she was pulled down._

_Then, the three dragons stopped in their tracks, releasing Cherri. Yelping, Cherri continued to fall head first to the ground, hitting it with a thud._

_Meanwhile, Angela and the Deep Peach dragon both helped Savannah up, holding onto her elbows. "How are your hands?" Angela asked, turning her head to the side, making Savannah lift up her clawed hands, looking at both sides, finding the back of both of her hands were red from the fire._

_"They'll be fine..." Savannah said as she lowered her claws, looking out and seeing Lista walking over to where Cherri was lying on her back, not moving. After looking down, Lista quickly looked up as the Peridot dragon, the Carmine dragon, the Russet dragon and the Gamboge dragon all landed next to her._

_"She looks unconscious!" Lista called._

_Her expression darkening, Savannah started to walk toward the defeated dragon, leaving behind a rather surprised Deep Peach dragon and Angela. However, they both quickly overcame their surprise and started to follow Savannah._

_LINE BREAK_

_Groaning, Cherri opened her eyes slowly to find that she was lying in a dark, damp square-shaped room: a prison cell. Groaning, Cherri rolled over onto her back, just as the large steel door with no bars or window opened, Savannah walking inside in her dragon form, carrying a tray of food, Staring at the Bondi Blue-colored dragon, Cherri slowly sat up._

_"You do know where you are, right?" Savannah asked._

_"Yes..."_

_"Good..." Savannah said as she knelt down, handing over the tray. Looking down, Cherri could see that it was just a loaf of bread and a glass of water. "...Dinner..." Savannah said as Cherri took it._

_"How long are you going to keep me?" Cherri asked as she pulled the tray up to her chest._

_"That depends..." Savannah replied. "...What did you do?"_

_"Many things..." Cherri replied. "The last thing I did was try to rob a bank. I've been trying to avoid capture for a year..."_

_In a brief second, Cherri could see a look of shock hit Savannah's face. "R...Really?" She asked as she started to stand back up._

_Cherri looked up at Savannah before she replied: "Yes."_

_"Uh-huh..." Savannah only said before she slowly turned around. "...Enjoy your food..." She added as she started to walk out of the cell. Cherri lowered her head back down to normal as Savannah turned around, reaching out for the cell door, closing it._

_Now alone in the darkness of the cell, Cherri looked in both directions as she decided to get used to her surroundings. Then, she looked up, surprised by what she saw, her eyes widening. Near the ceiling was a steel bar._

_LINE BREAK_

_Grunting and in dragon form, Cherri pulled herself up so that her chin and neck passed over the bar. Then, with another grunt, she lowered herself..._

END FLASHBACK

"That's how I spent my time in prison..." Cherri said, turning her head to the side, making Rose slowly turn her head to the side as the older woman cracked a small smile. "...What?" Cherri asked.

"Sounds like a good exercise for me..." Rose joked. "...I used to do those when I was in the Huntsclan. Maybe I should go back and try those again..."

"Hey, if it helped me, then it can help you..." Cherri smiled herself.

"They helped you?" Rose's smile faded. "How?"

"I was in that cell for three or so months..." Cherri said as she turned her head back to normal. "...I honestly lost count and I'd actually prefer not to remember. All I do know is that for every day of my imprisonment, I worked out, I ate and I slept. One day, Savannah caught me in the act..."

_FLASHBACK_

_Grunting, Cherri lifted herself up so that her chin and neck was over the bar. However, unbeknownst to her, the door to the cell opened and Savannah stepped inside, once again carrying a tray of bread and water. _

_When Savannah saw that Cherri was not on the ground, her eyes widened, but when she heard a grunt from above her, she looked up to see Cherri lifting herself up again._

_Her eyes returning back to normal, Savannah looked back down. Blinking, Savannah slowly leaned over and set the tray down on the floor. Then, she straightened back up; as she took a step back, she moved her tail in front of her and used it to push the tray away from the door._

_Then, Savannah exited the cell and reached out, closing the cell door behind her._

END FLASHBACK

"But how did that help you?" Rose slowly returned her head back to normal.

"While I was in prison..." Cherri explained. "...Savannah had risen in the ranks. She had recently been upgraded to what she is now: Second-in-Command. Which meant..."

_FLASHBACK_

_Her eyes closed, Cherri shivered violently as she was woken up. Her eyes snapping open, she found the reason. Savannah was standing over her, locking a length of chains that were now binding Cherri's wrists._

_"What are you doing?" Cherri asked._

_"I sincerely apologize..." Savannah said as she released Cherri's now chained wrists, allowing Cherri to slowly sit up, thus allowing Cherri to see the blindfold being held in Savannah's tail. "...For the chains and the blindfold."_

_"Then why?" Cherri asked._

_"We're going to go for a walk..." Savannah said as she used her tail to slap the blindfold into her clawed hands. "...The chains are to assure me that you won't attack me."_

_"Smart move..." Cherri admitted as she brought her hands up and pulled at the chains, testing them and finding that they held tight._

_LINE BREAK_

_Savannah and the now blind-folded Cherri both remained silent as they walked into the dining room. "Stop right here." Savannah said as she removed her hand from Cherri's shoulder, making the Verdigris dragon stop as Savannah took another step and then turned around. "Hold out your hands..." She said._

_Rather confused by this order, Cherri stalled before she started to extend her arms, holding her chained hands out. _

_From behind her blindfold, she could hear the sound of clinging metal and heard a small thud as something hit her palms. Then, she felt hands curling her clawed fingers up._

_As Savannah finished balling up Cherri's hands, she released them and took a step back. "Remove her blindfold, Angela..." She said._

_Gasping as she felt Angela putting her claws to the back of her head, Cherri blinked as the blindfold fell from her face. Turning her head to the side quickly, Cherri could see Angela walking passed her. Angela stopped as she reached Savannah's side and then she turned around, smiling kindly at Cherri as the Verdigris dragon returned her head back to normal._

_"Open your hands..." Savannah said._

_Rather confused, Cherri looked down at her chained hands as she stretched out her claws and fingers, finding a new, shiny medallion resting in her palms. Her eyes wide, Cherri looked back up at Savannah._

_"What do you say?" The Bondi Blue dragon asked._

_"M...Me?" Cherri asked. "Bu...But why? Aren...Aren't I a prisoner?"_

_"You don't have to be..." Angela said._

_"I saw you yesterday." Savannah said, smiling slightly. "I saw the way you worked your body. I was quite impressed. And I thought...why don't you use your new muscle to help out. To redeem yourself..."_

_"I..." Cherri tried. "...I...I don't..."_

_"Just shut up and say yes." Angela's smile widened._

END FLASHBACK

"You said yes..." Rose said, looking to the side as Cherri.

"After I broke down in tears, yes..." Cherri said, turning her head to the side to look at her. "...Yes, I did. I couldn't believe that Savannah was giving me a second chance. Of course, the others were less than thrilled..."

_LINE BREAK_

_Freed from the chains, Cherri exited the dining room with red, poofy eyes, the medallion around her neck and Savannah at her side. However, as she stepped outside, Cherri could see that The Peridot dragon, the Carmine dragon, the Russet dragon, the Deep Peach dragon, Lista, the Gamboge dragon and even the Sapphire dragon were all gathered together, staring right at Cherri, each of them giving her a dirty look._

_"Come on..." Savannah seemed to ignore the rest of her teammates as she put her claws on Cherri's shoulder, making the Verdigris dragon turned her head to the side. "...Let's get you cleaned up and then you'll meet your new boss."_

_Savannah then turned to the side and started to walk off. Cherri quickly turned her head back to normal for one last look at her unhappy looking new teammates. Sighing, Cherri then turned to the side and started to follow Savannah, leaving Angela to slowly step out of the dining room as well, staring at her fellow team members._

END FLASHBACK

"Fortunately..." Cherri said as she returned her head back to normal. "...Savannah and especially Angela believed in me. Surprisingly, it only took three weeks for the rest of the team to learn to tolerate an ex-felon who joined the fight for justice. Now, Savannah is my best friend and the rest of the team treat me like I never did anything wrong." She then turned her head to the side yet again. "I think I proved my worth to them."

"What do you think got Savannah and Angela to believe in you?" Rose asked.

"Angela just believed in forgiveness and second chances." Cherri said. "As for Savannah, I soon found out...that she saw a little bit of herself in me..."

BLACKOUT; END EPISODE

**A/N: Please review. What did you think of this episode? **


	5. Chapter 5

Future Dragon: Rose Long (Season Three)

Chapter/Episode 5: The Final Test

In the dark night, Savannah, in her Bondi Blue dragon form and with her medallion dangling from around her neck, walked toward the room that Rose and Cherri were in. Stepping into the room, Savannah could see both Cherri and Rose in their dragon form, standing as if they were about to perform a stand-off.

Then, Cherri lifted up her arm and threw the tennis ball right at Rose. Rose slowly lifted her tail and grunted as she slowly started to move her tail forward so she could hit the ball. However, the ball was going so fast that as Rose slowly lashed out with her tail, the ball went flying passed, hitting the floor and bouncing twice before rolling until it hit Savannah's feet.

Turning around, Rose watched as Savannah leaned over and picked up the ball, straightening up. "Still no luck?" She asked.

"Not really." Cherri said as she held up one of her arms. "Toss it over here. We'll try again."

Smiling, Savannah threw back her arm as she lifted into the air, then, she threw the tennis ball, which flew across the room, coming down and allowing Cherri to catch the ball without much effort. Smiling as she lowered her arm, Cherri said: "Come on, Rose...", making Rose turn back around.

Switching the tennis ball in her clawed hands, Cherri took a step back and started to raise her arm with the ball in it. "Wait." Savannah suddenly called, holding up her clawed hands to stop her friend, making Cherri slowly lower her arm.

"What?" Cherri asked.

"I think that this may not be the best idea..." Savannah said as she started to walk over to Rose, stopping right at her side. "...I think Rose needs to work some strength back into her tail."

"How is she supposed to do that?" Cherri asked.

"Maybe she needs to think about that over the night..." Savannah said as she turned her head to the side to look at Rose. Slowly, Rose turned her head to the side as well. "...It's going to be okay." Savannah said. "You've had a long day. You need some rest."

"This won't take too much longer..." Rose tried.

"You can work at it tomorrow." Savannah gave her friend a small smile. "Trust me on this one."

Closing her mouth, Rose slowly returned her head back to normal, looking at Cherri. "Alright..." Rose finally said, turning around and starting to walk out of the room. As Rose reached the exit, she reverted to her human form, and as soon as the bright light faded, she finally walked out of the room.

Slowly turning around to make sure that Rose was gone, Savannah then turned back around. "She's gone..."

"Obviously..." Cherri said as she started to walk over to her friend. "...You just told her to leave." As soon as Cherri reached Savannah, she sighed. "She didn't have it down, Savannah."

"I know that."

"Then why did you have her leave?"

"Because..." A smile crossed onto Savannah's face. "...While you and Rose were working, I was talking to the rest of the team."

"About what?"

"Tomorrow..." Savannah crossed her arms as she continued to smile. "...We're all going to put Rose's strength to the ultimate test. If she passes this little exam of ours, she will be ready to go out and help us find the criminal or criminals that took her parents' lives."

"But what about her tail and her neck?" Cherri tried to reason, lifting her arms up but quickly lowering them again for emphasis on her concerns.

"They'll be put to the test..." Savannah repeated, her smile fading as she lowered her arms.

"I don't feel good about this." Cherri said.

"Rose will do great." Savannah gave her friend a sure smile. "I talked to everyone on the team. They're all in on it. They know what they're going to be doing-"

"I don't." Cherri cut her off, crossing her scaly arms.

"You'll be with me." Savannah said. "Anyway, everyone knows what they're supposed to do. It'll all go down perfectly. I even talked to Lono first."

"And what did he say?" Cherri asked, lowering her arms.

"He thinks it's a great idea." Savannah explained. "So, in case you're still unsure, let me tell you that everyone is cool with this plan..."

LINE BREAK

Growling with anger, Gilda pulled off her medallion and threw it down onto the floor, where it bounced before it laid still. Sitting on the bed a few inches away, the human Arkadi held his medallion in his hands.

"Now what has that thing ever done to you?" Arkadi asked in his Russian accent.

"Oh, do shut your mouth..." Gilda rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms, using her tail to pick up her medallion. "...I don't like it, Arkadi." She said as she started to walk toward him. "I don't want to play any part in that woman's life!"

"Who? Rose?" Arkadi asked.

"Who else?!"

"Well, I think it would be pretty difficult not to be a part of her life, Gilda." Arkadi said, getting up from the bed. "Savannah is dead-set on going through with this..."

A frown on her face, Gilda crossed her arms. "Unless we could get rid of the problem..."

"Get rid of Rose?" Arkadi's eyes widened. "She hasn't done anything to you!"

"She's done everything to me..." Gilda growled, lowering her arms and clenching them both into fists. "...Everything, Arkadi." Then, there was just a moment where the two dragons stared at one another before Gilda opened her mouth again. "I made up my mind, Arkadi. I'm going to get rid of Rose."

"How?" Arkadi asked. "You're not going to hurt her, are you?"

There was a brief moment when Gilda said nothing. Then: "All I want is for this Rose woman to leave on her own free will."

"And how are you going to do that?"

Gilda just stood in place for a few seconds before the question hit her, her eyes widening. "I..." She raised up one of her claws. "...I...I...I don't know. I'll...I'll have to think about it. But..." She took a few steps toward Arkadi. "...I just need to know if you're going to help me or not." Clasping her clawed hands together, she continued: "You may be the only way that I can pull this off..."

"But I don't want Rose to leave..." Arkadi replied. "...She should have justice. Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

"It means the entire world to me..." Gilda told her, slowly turning around. "...That she doesn't..." She then started to walk toward her bed, which was just a few inches away. Gilda used her tail to dangle her medallion over her bed before she dropped it. Then, she reverted to her human form.

"Gilda..." Arkadi tried.

"What?" Gilda asked, turning around and putting her hands on her hips. "Either you're calling my name to tell me that you're going to help me tomorrow or you're just wasting my time. Which one is it?"

Arkadi's face darkened at this and he sighed as he lowered his head. "No, Gilda." He said. "I'm not going to help you sabotage Rose..."

At first, there was a look of disappointment on Gilda's face. However, it quickly transformed into one of anger and annoyance. "Fine!" She said, quickly turning back around. "I don't need your help. I can get Rose to want to leave all by myself..."

BLACKOUT; COMMERCIAL

BACK TO THE STORY/SHOW

The next morning, Rose, wearing the red jersey and the black running shorts, opened the door to her room and started to walk out, closing the door behind her. As Rose walked away, Joel stepped out from behind the side of the building. In his Peridot dragon form and with his medallion dangling from around his neck. Turning his head to the side, Joel could see Rose walking away.

Satisfied, Joel turned his head back to normal and began to walk forward.

LINE BREAK

In his Carmine dragon form, Coen was sitting at a desk, looking up from an old microscope. The door to the room opened and Coen turned his head to the side as Joel stepped into the room, using his tail to close the door.

"Well?" He asked, walking over to the table as Coen rolled around in his chair. "Will her blood be usable?"

"No..." Coen said.

"What?" Joel's face contorted with anger, his claws clenching. "What do you mean?! It's her blood! It should do the trick."

"It's-" Joel opened his mouth, but before he could form the second word, he grunted before he closed his mouth. The Carmine dragon then turned around in his chair and started to look around his table, finally finding a clean napkin on the side of the table.

"What are you doing?" Joel asked, watching as Coen reached to the side of the desk, grabbing a pen. Watching with a confused look on his face, Joel could see Coen putting the tip of the pen to the napkin, scribbling down a message.

Seconds later, Coen set down the pen and held the napkin up, turning around in his chair, allowing Joel to read off of the napkin.

"The blood is unusable because it's dry..." Joel read before he looked up at Coen. "...Are you serious?" His face darkened. Unfazed by this, Coen nodded his head once.

"Then how is this supposed to work?!" Joel nearly shouted, only getting a shrug from Coen.

Sighing, Joel turned around and put his clawed hands on his hips. "Then what will work, Coen?" He turned his head to the side. "Fresh, wet blood?"

"Possibly..." Coen responded.

"Well..." Joel turned back around to face Coen. "...Isn't it convenient that today is the day that Savannah is having us all pitch in to help Rose?" As he finished asking this, a mischievous smile appeared on his face.

LINE BREAK

Groaning, Gilda opened her eyes and looked at the dim room. Yawning, Gilda started to push herself up off of her side and into a sitting position.

A couple inches away, Arkadi was lying on his back, his eyes closed and his mouth opening and closing as he snored loudly. Slowly climbing off of her bed, Gilda started to walk over to Arkadi's bedside. "Arkadi..." She said, leaning over and putting her hand on her fellow dragon's shoulder, shaking it, making Arkadi gasp as his eyes snapped open, making Gilda pull her hand away and taking a step back before Arkadi turned his head to the side to look at her.

"What, Gilda?" He asked.

"Today's the day." Gilda said. "And I have an idea..."

"An idea?" Arkadi asked as he sat up, keeping his head turned at the side.

"...To get Rose out of the picture..." Gilda clarified.

LINE BREAK

Breathing heavily, Rose started to walk back to the building that was her room. However, before she could get even half-way, she gasped as she felt a hand coming down on her shoulder. Pulling away and turning around, Rose could see Cherri in her human form, her medallion dangling around her neck.

"Don't do that..." Rose said.

"Sorry..." Cherri said as she lowered her arm to the side. "...I'm just... under orders..."

"Under orders?" Rose asked.

"Come with me." Cherri said. "Savannah wants to see you in the dining hall."

"Really?" Rose took a step back. "What about?"

Even though Cherri tried to hide the fact that she knew what this was about, Rose could tell that she did know, especially by looking at Cherri's somewhat nervous expression and by the way she stammered when she first spoke. "Sh...She didn't tell me." Cherri lied. "You'll have to ask her that."

Knowing that Cherri would not give in if she asked, Rose said nothing as she took yet another step back. "Do you think she can wait for about five minutes? Is it okay if I change my clothes. I kind of smell like dragon sweat..."

"Kind of?" Cherri raised an eyebrow.

"I smell horribly of dragon sweat..." Rose admitted as she started to turn around so that her back was to Cherri. "...Tell Savannah I'll be there in five minutes!" She shouted as she started to run off toward her room.

LINE BREAK

"Okay, so what is your plan?" Arkadi asked as he and Gilda were walking down the grass, heading toward the dining hall. Both were in their respective dragon forms and both wore their medallions around their necks.

"Well, as she isn't supposed to know what's going on until it's all over..." Gilda said. "...It's going to be dark inside. She won't be able to see anything."

"Naturally..."

"Well, that's when I'll attack her..." Gilda explained, turning her head to the side. "...She won't be able to see me do it. All she'll know is the pain that shoots through her body when I run my claws through her flesh..." As she said this, she returned her head back to normal.

"You're going to do what?!" Arkadi reacted quickly, turning his head to the side. "You're going to hurt her?"

"It won't be too bad." Gilda smiled. "She'll just have a few scratches."

"That doesn't solve anything for you or Rose." Arkadi returned his head back to normal, an angry tone in his voice.

"Of course it does." Gilda assured him. "As it will be in the dark, she won't know which member of the team did it, she'll soon grow to distrust all of us. Then, she'll leave." Smiling, Gilda continued to walk, but Arkadi stopped in his tracks, watching as Gilda continued walking.

"Gilda..." He called, making Gilda stop and turn around. "...I'm not playing any part of this." He told her. "If you're truly dead-set on doing this to her, just don't include me."

LINE BREAK

"Listen carefully, Coen..." Joel's voice as he and Coen, who now had his medallion around his neck, was a sort of low growl as they both walked down the grass. "...Even though everyone will be there, it will be easy to get Rose's blood."

"It'll be dark..." Coen managed.

"Exactly, but I'm going to need you by my side..." Joel turned his head to the side. "...So that when I draw her blood, we'll be able to get it immediately." Joel then turned his head back to normal. "Then I expect you to take it back to your little lab immediately."

"Got it..." Came Coen's reply.

LINE BREAK

Savannah was in her human form, her medallion dangling from around her neck as she stared into the dark entrance of the ding hall. "Savannah..." Turning around as she heard the sound of Cherri's voice, Savannah could see Cherri stopping right in front of her, still in her dragon form.

"Oh, thank God!" The look of relief on Savannah's face surprised Cherri.

"Um...what?"

"Rose!" Savannah smiled with relief. "She's not here!"

"No, she's not." Cherri said. "But she is coming. She told me that she wanted to change. She'll be here in about five minutes."

"I hope that's enough time..." Savannah said as she turned her head to the side.

"Is something...wrong, Savannah?" Cherri asked slowly, raising an eyebrow.

"Joel, Coen, Arkadi and Gilda all aren't here yet." Savannah said as she returned her head to normal. "How can I have Rose tested if not everyone is here?"

"I'm sure they'll be here soo-" Cherri started, however, before she could finish, Joel and Coen both finished walking up to Savannah's side, making Savannah turn her head to the side before she completely turned around.

"Are we late?" Joel asked.

"As long as you get in there before Rose shows up, you've got no problems with me." Savannah told them, turning around as Joel and Coen turned to the side and walked into the dark dining hall.

"Cherri?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think you could do me the greatest favor in your life?" Savannah asked, clasping her hands together and holding them up. "Go find Rose. Try to stall-" However, before she could finish, she turned her head to the side when she heard footsteps, seeing Gilda quickly walking toward her, while Arkadi was slowly treading behind her.

"Okay..." Savannah said as she returned her head back to normal. "...Scratch that..."

LINE BREAK

Now wearing her regular clothes, Rose kept her eyes on the dining hall as she made her way closer to it with each step that she took. She could see the forms of both Savannah and Cherri standing at the door, both of them facing each other.

"Hey..." Rose said as she reached both of them, making Cherri and Savannah turn their heads to the side to see Rose stopping in front of them.

"Rose!" Savannah smiled as she turned to the side. "We've all been waiting for you."

"Did I take too long?" Rose asked.

"Actually, I was afraid that you would get here earlier..." Savannah said as she reached into the pockets of her jeans, pulling out a blindfold before she handed it over to Rose. "...Do you mind?" She asked as Rose glanced down at the cloth in Savannah's hand.

"What's it for?" She asked as she glanced back up, watching as Cherri turned to the side to face her as well.

"Just...go with it..." Savannah said. "...Trust me."

Rose stared at Savannah's smiling face for a few seconds before she sighed, reaching out and taking the blindfold off of Savannah's hand. "Good." Savannah said as she lowered her arm. "Just...put it over your eyes."

"Why?"

"I don't want you to see when you go into the dining hall..." Savannah said honestly.

"Why?" Rose asked, her tone rising. "I really wish that you would tell me what you're planning. Aren't I part of this team as of now?"

"Technically, you are." Savannah nodded once. "Yes. However, I do not know if you are strong enough to be able to go through with this hunt."

"Isn't that why I've been working out?" Rose asked.

"Absolutely." Savannah nodded once again. "But I still don't know if it has really helped. You see-"

"I'm no longer walking at the speed of a snail, or am I?" Rose put her hands on her hips, dropping the blindfold to the ground.

"Don't take this personally, Rose..." Savannah put her hands up as Cherri took a step forward and then stepped to the side, crouching down and picking up the blindfold as Savannah spoke: "...This is just to make sure that you will be all that you can be. I know that you'll pass this..."

As she finished speaking, Cherri stood back up and handed out the blindfold, which Rose snatched out of her hand. Sighing, Rose brought her hands up and put the cloth over her eyes. Reaching behind her head, Rose quickly tied a knot, keeping the blindfold over her eyes.

"Happy?" She asked, putting her hands back on her hips.

"We'll see..." Savannah said, turning her head to the side to look at Cherri, making her friend turn her head to the side so she could see Savannah giving her a nod. As Savannah returned her head back to the side and spoke again, Cherri did as well and started to walk toward Rose.

"...I will be once this test is over..." Savannah said as Cherri reached Rose, passing her and turning around, putting her hand on Rose's shoulder, making Rose turn her head to the side as she unconsciously started to bring her hand up to the blindfold over her eyes.

"Don't." Savannah brought up her hand, making Rose freeze and lower her hand.

"It's just me..." Cherri said.

"Cherri, take her into the dining hall..." Savannah said. "...Then come back to me..."

Nodding, Cherri started to walk toward the door to the dining hall, guiding Rose, who walked alongside her.

Entering the dark room, Cherri continued to walk the blinded Rose into the room, where Arkadi and Maverick were standing at that side of the room in their dragon forms. However, once they reached the middle of the room, Cherri stopped in her tracks, Rose stopping as well as Cherri pulled her hand off of her shoulder.

"Stay here." Cherri said. "And don't take off the blindfold."

With that said, Cherri turned around and started to walk away, leaving the room. Outside, she closed the door behind herself. She then took three more steps, finally stopping in front of Savannah.

Smiling, Savannah crossed her arms. "Time to sit back and see if Rose is ready..." She said.

LINE BREAK

In the room, Rose was standing all alone. Although she could not see and the room was dark, it was still bright enough for Arkadi and Maverick, as well as Coen and Joel, who were at the wall on the left of Rose, Gilda and Lista, who were facing Rose, and Lexy, who was on the wall on the right of Rose to all turn their heads in both directions to look at one another.

Finally, Maverick looked down at his claws and blew out a fireball. Then, with a grunt, he threw the fireball toward Rose.

BLACKOUT; COMMERCIAL

BACK TO THE STORY/SHOW

As the fireball got closer and closer to Rose, Rose's ears picked up on the sound of it. "Wh...?" Rose started, but she quickly stopped herself from speaking as she transformed into her dragon form in a bright light; even before the light faded, Rose jumped into the air. However, as she flared her wings, they came out slowly, making it so that Rose started to fall back to the floor for a few brief seconds before her wings caught her.

With Rose hovering in the air, all of the dragons on the floor flew up toward her: first Lexy, then Arkadi and Maverick, then Gilda and Lista, and then Joel and Coen, who turned their heads to the side to look at one another before they finally flew into the air.

Stopping in mid-air, Lista opened her mouth and blew out a torrent of fire, which started to go toward Rose. Her ears twitching as they picked up the sound of the flames, as well as starting to feel the heat, Rose grunted as she managed to flap her wings one, with great effort.

Rose flew up, allowing the torrent of fire to shoot right passed her from below. However, she turned to the side when she heard the sound of flapping wings. Maverick and Arkadi were right in front of her. With grunts, Maverick and Arkadi both lashed out with their tails. Acting quickly, Rose brought up both of her scaly arms, throwing them both to the side, knocking back both dragon's tails at the same time.

However, as Rose did that, Lexy flew up right behind her. After staring at her for a few seconds, the Sapphire-colored dragon opened her mouth and blew out a torrent of fire, just as Lista, Gilda, Joel and Coen all landed on the ground.

All four of the dragons on the ground looked up as Rose flapped her wings once more, still with effort, diving down before stopping in the air, making it so that the fire hit Maverick and Arkadi, blasting them back.

Grunting, Lista started to fly up toward Rose, lashing out with her tail as she got right beneath Rose. However, Rose heard the sound of the tail and grunted as she slowly started to lash out with her tail...

LINE BREAK

Outside the building, Cherri stood a couple inches away from the building, blinking as she watched Savannah, who was turned to the side, with her ear of the dragon pressed against the wall.

"Can you hear anything?" Cherri asked.

"Yeah..." Savannah said in a hushed tone, pulling her head away, her Bondi Blue-colored dragon ear fading as she turned to the side to face Cherri. "...It sounds like all is going well..."

LINE BREAK

Rose's tail clashed with Lista's. However, as Lista's tail was stronger, Rose's tail went flying back. However, Rose reacted quickly, opening her mouth and blowing out a torrent of fire, which hit Lista, making her fall back to the ground.

Watching Lista hit with a thud, Joel turned his head to the side, whispering: "I think now would be the best time to act..."

As Coen nodded, Joel turned his head back to normal and started to flap his wings, lifting off of the ground, and as he flew up, he lifted his head up, grinning as he started to fly toward Rose, who was now just hovering in the air, flapping her wings slowly.

Joel quickly reached her feet, but Rose, who could hear his wings, lashed out with her foot, kicking him in the neck. Joel's eyes widened and he flew back, reaching up and wrapping his hand around his neck as he stopped himself in the air by flaring his wings, trying to breath.

Although her was looking up at Joel, Coen was forced to look down and turned his head to the side when he heard the sound of flapping wings; he could see Gilda smiling as she lifted into the air, flapping her wings as hard as she could as she flew toward Rose.

As soon as Gilda quickly reached Rose, she grinned and lashed out with her claws, swiping at Rose before Rose could even react. As the claws slashed into Rose's leg, Rose's face contorted with pain for a few seconds before she finally opened her mouth and shouted in pain.

LINE BREAK

Outside, Savannah had put her Bondi Blue ear back to the wall and was standing perfectly still as Cherri tapped her foot, her hands behind her back. "Savannah, I thought you said that everything was going okay..." She said.

"Shh, Cherri..." Savannah said as she started to pull her head away. However, just as she started to pull her head away, that was when she heard the shout coming from Rose, making her eyes widen.

"Savannah...?"

"Rose..." Savannah breathed before she rushed to the door, turning to the side and opening it. "Rose!" She exclaimed as she rushed inside.

LINE BREAK

Rose, now in human form, was sitting against the wall with her pants leg up, a still dragon Joel wrapping a bandage around her leg, while Coen, in his human form, sat beside her.

However, Rose paid no attention to this. Instead, she looked across the room, where she could see a human Arkadi, who was standing behind Cherri, who standing behind Savannah, who was facing a human Gilda. Rose could hear them perfectly:

"Thanks a lot, Arkadi..." Gilda put her hands on her hips.

"He did the right thing..." There was a look of extreme anger in Savannah's eyes as she pointed at Gilda. "...Unlike you. How could you do such a thing to a member of this team?!"

Gilda said nothing.

"I didn't think you'd be able to answer." Savannah said as she lowered her arm, instead putting her hands on her hips. "I'm shocked and disgusted. I refuse to condone your behavior..."

"What are you going to do?" Gilda crossed her arms. "Kick me out?"

Savannah said nothing as she did the exact same thing that Gilda did: cross her arms. "Personally, I think I'd love to." Savannah finally said. "But...although I am your superior, that is not in my power. Maybe I should talk to Lono..."

Lowering her arms, Savannah then turned and started to walk away, leaving Gilda's eyes to narrow as she lowered her arms and clenched her fists. "She does not belong here!" She stated loudly, making Savannah freeze in her tracks as she reached the open door.

Crossing her arms, Gilda watched as Savannah slowly turned around, a look of fury on her face. "Is that the truth...?" She asked slowly. "...OR IS THAT JUST YOUR OPINION?!" Savannah suddenly shouted. "JUST BECAUSE YOUR PARENTS WERE MURDERED AND YOU NEVER GOT THE RELIEF OF JUSTICE DOES NOT MEAN THAT ROSE DESERVES THE SAME!"

Rose's eyes were wide as she watched Savannah spin around before she stomped out the door. However, she was forced to look away from the door as she realized that Joel was standing up. "You should be good." Joel told her. "Just keep that on for a few days, and it'll heal..."

LINE BREAK

"Lono?" Savannah asked as she pushed the door to a dark room open. "Lono?" She repeated as she walked inside, staring straight ahead of her, seeing a large dragon slumped in a chair in the dark end of the room, leaving the dragon as only a shadowy figure.

"Lono..." Savannah repeated once again, stopping in front of the chair, making the shadowy dragon jump up in surprise as the dragon lifted his head up.

"Savannah..." Lono breathed. "...You...You startled me..."

"Lono, is everything alright?" Savannah asked, cocking her head to the side as she put her hands on her hips. "You're not eating with us anymore. You're always alone in he-"

"I'm fine." Lono told her firmly, not getting up from his chair.

"Are you sure?" Savannah straightened her head back to normal.

"Yes..." Lono crossed his arms. "...Now, why have you come here? I hope it's important?"

"It is..." Savannah growled as she removed her hands from her hips and instead clenched her fists. "...Gilda attacked Rose during her test."

"Attacked?" Lono asked in a disbelieving tone. "That doesn't sound like the Gilda that first found me a few years ago while looking for a chance to do what the human police could not."

"She's had no such luck." Savannah said, her tone softening. "But now Rose has the chance to achieve what she never could-what the police never could. She doesn't like that. So...she slashed Rose in the leg. The reason why I'm here...is because I think I want Gilda out..."

"Out?" Lono's tone transformed into one of shock as he quickly got to his feet, placing his arms behind his back. "Absolutely not, Savannah. Out of the question."

"But-"

"No." Lono said firmly. "Not after we lost Angela. We can't let that happen."

"But Gilda attacked-"

"I'll have an eye kept on Gilda..." Lono said. "...How does that sound." Then, after a few seconds of Savannah just staring at him, he added: "My decision is final, Savannah. Gilda is staying."

Closing her eyes, Savannah took a deep breath before she answered: "Yes, sir."

Then, Savannah opened her eyes and stared at the shadowy figure of her superior for a few seconds before she turned around and started to walk toward the door. As he watched her leave, Lono sat back down, just as Savannah passed through the door, turning around, reaching out for the knob, and then closing the door.

Alone once more, Lono just stared at the door. Suddenly, he spoke in a hushed whisper: "Gilda will have to come to trust Rose, for I have big plans in store for her..."

BLACKOUT; END EPISODE

**A/N: Please review!**


	6. Chapter 6

Future Dragon: Rose Long (Season Three)

Chapter/Episode 6: To Avenge Or Rescue?

It was early in the early hours of the morning and Rose was lying on her side under the covers of her new bed. Her eyes were closed and she was sleeping soundly. However, unbeknownst to Rose, the door to her room opened and then creaked as it was pushed open, Lista tiptoeing inside in her Tangerine-colored dragon form, her medallion still around her neck.

"Oh great..." Lista muttered as she saw that Rose was sleeping on the bed. Still, she continued to tiptoe toward the bed. As she reached the bed, she started to reach down for the pillow. However, before she could reach for the pillow, Rose's eyes opened, making Lista gasp as Rose sat up.

"What are you doing?" Rose asked.

"I...uh..." Lista tried. "...Well...I...uh..." Then, she sighed as she lowered her head. Rose watched as Lista lifted her head and reached out for the pillow, lifting it up. Rose slowly turned her head to the side, and she saw the Bible underneath. "...It's Angela's..." Lista said, making Rose slowly return her head to normal. "...Well, it was Angela's."

"I forgot about that." Rose said honestly.

"I was just..." Lista started, but Rose stopped her.

"Do you want it?" Rose asked.

"Well, yeah..." Lista gave a small smile. "...You don't mind, do you?"

"It wasn't mine." Rose said.

"Thanks, Rose..." Lista smiled, using her tail to go over to the bed, snatching up the book. "...See..." She continued as she pulled back the book, taking it in her claws as she lowered her tail. "...Angela was reading it to me. I find it quite interesting..."

"That's why you should have it..." rose nodded once slowly. "...I think Angela would have wanted you to have it. She would have wanted someone who would enjoy it to have it..."

LINE BREAK

In the sewers, Brytt was sitting next to the bundled up hobgoblin. His head was turned to the side and he was looking down at the old hobgoblin, whose eyes were closed as he slept. Looking up, Brytt turned his head back to normal, where he saw Wynne sitting on the other end of the sewer, sitting on the other sidewalk. Her arms were crossed and her head was lowered.

Getting to his feet, Brytt stepped into the water and started to walk toward her. As soon as he reached her, Brytt said nothing, instead just waiting until Wynne slowly lifted her head up. The two just stared at each other until they both heard the sound of coughing and hacking, which came from the area where the bundled up hobgoblin was.

Turning around, Brytt's eyes widened before he started to run over to the bundled hobgoblin, his feet splashing in the water. As soon as he reached the hobgoblin, Brytt knelt down in front of the hobgoblin, only to see that blood was coming from the mouth of the bundled up hobgoblin.

"Father..." Brytt said, his eyes wide as Wynne stepped up behind him.

"I don't think he has much time left, Brytt..." Wynne told him.

LINE BREAK

The next morning, Rose, wearing her plain red jersey and the running shorts, opened the door to her room. Stepping outside, she reached back and closed the door behind her. Then, she turned to the side and started to walk away from her door and room.

LINE BREAK

In her own room, a fully dressed Savannah sat on her bed as she slipped her medallion over her head. As it hit her chest, Savannah slowly stood up before she started to walk toward the door.

As she reached it, Savannah reached out and opened the door. She started to step out, but she froze and gasped as she saw Rose standing right outside. "Oh, Rose..." Savannah breathed after a second, putting her hand on her chest. "...I wasn't expecting you. Is something wrong?"

"No..." Rose replied. "...I just..." She stalled briefly as she reached over to her opposite arm, holding onto it. "...It's about yesterday..."

Savannah's eyes widened as she stared at Rose. "You're not going to take Gilda's words to heart, are you?" She asked softly. "Rose, you can't listen to-"

"No, it's not about that." Rose shook her head slowly once. "It's about...it's about my wings and my tail."

"They're still not working for you..." Savannah guessed.

"Yeah." Rose removed her arm from her shoulder. "So, I was thinking that I should work out my wings today. That probably means that I won't be able to come to breakfast today. Or do anything else..."

Savannah just stared at Rose with a confused look on her face. "What does that have to-?" However, Savannah stopped herself as she took a step back, bringing her hand up to the side of her neck, which she rubbed. "I'm...not sure...that I follow you, Rose." She said as she lowered her hand. "I don't understand how you would miss anything. Cherri will help you. I mean, I'll help you..." She put her hands to her chest.

"I'm saying that I want to go out on my own, Savannah." Rose said. "I'm going to go flying. By myself..."

"You up to that?"

"I can handle it." Rose said. "I just wanted to let you know that that is why you won't be seeing me around today..."

"What if something goes wrong?"

"I'll be fine." Rose said softly as she started to turn around. Savannah stared at Rose as she turned around, and as soon as Rose had completely turned around, Rose started to walk away, leaving Savannah completely alone.

"Hey, Rose..." The sound of Savannah's voice made Rose stop in her tracks and made her turn around to see Savannah walking toward her. "...About yesterday..." Savannah said as she stopped in front of Rose. "...And about Gilda..."

"You shouldn't be too hard on her..." Rose said softly. "...I understand that she feels...um...left out. Maybe I should talk to her."

"No, Rose." Savannah shook her head. "Please, just do me a favor and stay away from her. She'll only cause problems..."

LINE BREAK

Grunting as she climbed out of the manhole that led to the sewers, Wynne got to her feet and started to walk toward Acalan, who was turned to the side, watching as Amias set down food for Jake, while Drystan set down food for Daisy.

Not saying anything, Wynne reached Acalan's side and turned to the side as well, watching as Amias and Drystan both walked away from the prisoners. "Got any idea what we're going to do to them?" Acalan asked, turning his head to the side.

"Not yet." Wynne answered, keeping her head straight so she stared at Jake and Daisy. Then, she turned her head to the side. "Brytt's father is dying..."

"He's old..." Acalan said, returning his head back to normal as well. "Nothing lives forever. It shouldn't matter if he dies. The only thing that matters is that we find a hobgoblin that can take the place as leader..."

"Brytt can do that." Wynne replied. "Once his father dies, the position will be Brytt's."

"Do you really think that he'll be able to rise to the occasion?" Acalan asked after a few seconds, turning his head to the side to look at Wynne.

Meanwhile, Daisy sighed as she gave up on trying to plant her face down into her lap, where a piece of meat had been placed. Lifting her head up, she groaned. "Jake..."

"What?" Jake asked, turning his head to the side. His legs were pulled up to his stomach, the piece of meat that Amias had given him was now on the ground at his feet.

"How are the chains coming?" Daisy asked quietly.

"They're coming along..." Jake said as he returned his head back to normal. Behind his back. his hands were still chained; however, the palm of his left hand was slowly starting to come out from the ring of chains. "...Can't you feel it as I struggle?" Jake cracked a grin.

"Jake..." Daisy said softly, her eyes narrowing although she kept the tone of her voice gentle.

"Yeah?" Jake turned his head to the side, still smiling.

"Once you finally get me out of these chains..."

"Yeah?" Jake repeated.

"...I'm going to slay you." Daisy finished. "Huntsclan mark or not..."

Hearing this, Jake's cocky smile vanished. "Dang, woman!" He exclaimed, turning his head back to normal. "You need to grow a sense of humor!"

LINE BREAK

The water bubble-like submarine surfaced, and quickly, the hatch on the top opened as a escalator started to come out, Rose, in her human form, standing on the top step. As she reached the dock, she stepped onto it and took a few steps before she took a deep breath.

"Here we go..." She said.

Then, in a bright light, she transformed. As the light faded, Rose stood in her yellow dragon form. Taking a deep breath, she slowly flared her wings and started to flap her wings slowly. "You can do this, Rose..." She said to herself.

After a few more seconds, Rose grunted as her wings finally lifted her off of the ground, slowly and with much effort flying into the air.

BLACKOUT; COMMERCIAL BREAK

BACK TO THE STORY/SHOW

Coen, in his dragon form and with his medallion around his neck, sat in his chair at his desk with his arms crossed, Just as the door to his room opened, Coen spun around in his chair, watching as a dragon Joel walked into the room, a big smile on his face as he clapped his clawed hands together.

"Get results?" He asked.

"No." Coen replied.

"What?" Joel asked, stopping in his tracks, his smile vanishing. "No? What do you mean? We got the blood. What else could go wrong?" He extended his arms to the side for emphasis as he asked this.

"Not enough blood..." Coen managed.

"Not enough?!" Joel repeated loudly. "How much blood is even needed? There were three drops of the woman's blood on the floor..." As he said this, Joel took a few more steps toward Coen. "...You're telling me that three drops aren't enough?" Then, Joel leaned in toward Coen. "Is that what you're telling me, Coen?"

"Yes." Coen replied, not intimidated by Joel in the slightest.

Sighing, Joel straightened up as he took a step back. "How much blood is needed, Coen?" he crossed his arms.

Coen just stared back at Joel for a few seconds before he took a deep breath. Then, he answered: "Just more..."

LINE BREAK

Rose was panting, sweat rolling down her forehead as she flew. Looking, down, she continued to pant as she looked down at the streets. "Ca...Can't beli...believe I'm sa...saying this..." Rose said, then she continued as she slowly lifted up her head. "...Bu...But I...i think I'm ge...getting too old for th...this..."

LINE BREAK

Jumping through the manhole, Wynne grunted as she landed in the shallow water. Seeing Brytt sitting on the curb next to his bundled up father, Wynn started to walk toward him. "What is it?" Brytt asked as Wynne stopped in front of him.

"You do know..." Wynne began. "...That when he dies..." She pointed at the bundled up hobgoblin next to Brytt, making Brytt turn his head to the side. "...You are the one that's going to take control, right?" She finished as Brytt returned his head back to normal.

Brytt said nothing; instead, he looked down at the water, allowing Wynne to speak up again. "You may not feel like you are ready now, but you will be." As she said this, Brytt looked back up at her. "Prove Acalan and the others wrong..." She held up her fist. "...Take control."

LINE BREAK

Panting heavily, Rose descended so that she was closer to the ground. With another flap as she panted, she managed to lift up in the air briefly as she brought up her claws to her forehead, wiping the sweat off.

"Not too much farther..." She breathed.

LINE BREAK

There were no signs of life outside Rose's house or inside through the window. Panting, Rose slowly flew down toward the ground, but as she touched down on the ground, she stumbled to the side briefly before she was able to catch herself.

Staring at the house for a few seconds in her dragon form, Rose reverted to her human form in a bright light. As soon as the light faded, Rose started to walk across the street, before she broke into a jog. As soon as she reached the other side of the street, she jogged up the steps to the house, stopping right at the door.

Breathing heavily, Rose brought her fist up and knocked on the door twice. "Daisy!" She called. "Daisy, it's me!" As she lowered her hand, she took one step back, putting her hands on the back of her sides as she breathed. "Daisy!"

Waiting a few seconds, until she stopped breathing heavily, Rose blinked in confusion before she opened her mouth again: "Daisy?"

Still not getting any answer, removed her hands from the back of her sides. "Wings of the dragon..." She said softly, two bright blue lights coming from her back, and as soon as the lights faded, her wings were sticking out of her back.

"Here goes nothing..." Rose muttered, grunting as she started to flap her wings, slowly lifting into the air. Once high enough, Rose grunted as she turned to the side, slowly flapping her wings as she flew over to the window. Turning back to the side, Rose looked into the window, only to see that the entire house was dark.

"Guess she's not home..." Rose muttered.

LINE BREAK

Stepping out of the manhole, Brytt stared at Jake and Daisy, who were still sitting chained up. Then, he turned slightly to look at Acalan, Amias and Drystan, who were all sitting against the wall.

Starting to walk toward them, Brytt turned his head to the side to look at the two prisoners, who just appeared to be sitting silently.

Finally reaching the three other hobgoblins, he turned to the side and looked down on them as all three of them looked up at him. "Amias. Acalan." Brytt said. "Tonight, I need you to watch over the two prisoners."

"Aren't we just going to dispose of them?" Amias asked.

"Later." Brytt put his hands on his hips. "Now, I have more important matters to deal with. Just look after them tonight."

Brytt, without saying another word, then turned around and started to walk away, leaving Acalan and Amias to turn their heads to the side and look at each other. "Since when has he had the courage to even give us an order?" Acalan asked.

LINE BREAK

Grunting as he landed in the shallow waters of the sewer, Brytt quickly turned around to see Wynne sitting next to his father. "I actually gave them an order." Brytt said as he started to walk toward her.

"It'll get easier with each time..." Wynne shrugged.

"But what about those two prisoners?" Brytt asked. "The others seem to be getting ready to just destroy them."

"I'm still thinking about how to handle them..." Came Wynne's reply.

LINE BREAK

It was getting dark outside, and Rose was still flapping her wings slowly, panting as she dipped up and down. Slowly looking up, Rose brought her clawed hand up and wiped off the sweat as she saw the roof of a building. "Must...rest..." Rose managed as she started to lower herself down.

By the time she landed on the roof of the building, Rose stumbled briefly before she fell to her knees, looking down as she breathed heavily.

However, after a few seconds, she slowly looked up when she heard the sound of hushed voices: "I think we should just do it now..." Came one male voice. "...We should just slay them. Wynne won't care!"

"Not a good idea, Amias..." Another male voice said. "...Brytt said to wait."

Getting to her feet, Rose slowly started to walk over to the edge of the building, where she looked down into the alley, where she could see two hobgoblins, one who was tall and who wore armor, while the other one was shorter and wore a duster as he held a club in his hands. Behind them were two people with their heads turned to the side as they watched the two hobgoblins bicker.

However, after blinking and taking a closer look, Rose recognized the two chained prisoners: Jake and Daisy. Her eyes widening, Rose gasped.

BLACKOUT; COMMERCIAL BREAK

BACK TO THE STORY/SHOW

Although it was dark outside, Savannah was standing in her human form near the elevator. Unbeknownst to her, Cherri, also in her human form and with her medallion around her neck, slowly walked up behind her. Stopping right at her side, Cherri asked: "What are you doing?", making Savannah turn her head to the side.

"Waiting for Rose." savannah answered as she returned her head back to normal. "I didn't think she'd be gone this long."

"You know, you don't have to worry about her..." Cherri said as she put her hand on Savannah's shoulder. "She's an adult. She can take care of herself."

Savannah turned her head back to the side to look at Cherri again, but just as she started to open her mouth, she gasped as a pair of claws came down on her shoulder. Turning her head in the other direction and looking up slightly, Savannah could see Joel standing beside her.

"I've been looking for Rose all day." Joel said as he looked down at her. "I haven't been able to find her."

"It's obvious that you've been looking for her all day..." Cherri said as she crossed her arms. "...Because we didn't see you at breakfast..."

"So?" Joel asked, looking up.

"If you had been at breakfast..." Savannah said as she turned her head back to normal to look at the elevator again, also bringing her hand up as she brushed Joel's claws off of her shoulder. "...You would know that Rose went flying today. She's still not back."

"Well, I'm sure she's fine..." Joel said as he turned to the side.

No sooner did he say this did the doors slide open, allowing all three dragons to see a panting human Rose as she ran out of the elevator, stopping in front of the three dragons. "Rose, are you okay?" Cherri asked as they watched her continue to pant as she hunched over, putting her hands on her knees as she slowly lifted her head up to look at the three dragons in front of her.

"I..." Rose panted. "...I...I...I...Nee...Need to talk to you, Sa...Savannah..."

"About what?" Savannah asked, watching as Rose stood straight back up, taking a deep breath.

"As I was flying..." Rose explained. "...I got really tired and decided that I needed to take a rest. So I landed on the roof of a building which was right by an alley."

"Yeah..." Savannah said slowly. "...Is there something wrong with that?"

"You'll..." Rose began, but she stopped again as she took another deep breath. "...You'll never guess what was down in the alley."

"Did you find any kind of clue about who could have killed your parents?" Savannah asked hopefully, a small smile appearing on her face.

"No..." Rose shook her head slowly once. "...Hobgoblins." She answered, taking a step closer to Savannah, Cherri and Joel. "And...And..." She tried, but she stopped, allowing Savannah, Cherri and Joel to all see the tears that were starting to form in Rose's eyes after she squeezed them shut and opened them back up. "...They had two prisoners..." Her voice was small and choked up.

"Who?" Cherri asked.

"My..." Rose started as the tears started to roll her cheeks. "...My...husband and m...my sister..."

Bringing up her hands to her eyes, Rose quickly wiped her tears before she lowered her hands and sniffled. "...I need some help. I sa...saw two hobgoblins, but there cou...could be more. We've got to sa...save them..."

Although Cherri had a shocked look on her face, Savannah did not appear to worried. "Rose..." She said. "...That's...not really what...what we're setting out to do..."

"Wh...What?" Rose asked, staring at Savannah as her tear-soaked eyes widened.

"We're supposed to be looking for a murderer..." Savannah said as she took a step back. "...The point of you being here is to avenge your parents and get justice."

"But..." Rose said. "...Jake and Daisy are still alive. They won't be if we don't do something..."

"Rose..." Savannah sighed. "...I just can't. Besides, isn't your husband a member of the Dragon Council?"

"So...?"

"He can look after himself..." Savannah's tone darkened, expressing a sense of contempt.

Rose stared at Savannah with a look of shock. However, after only three seconds, her expression transformed into one of rage; gritting her teeth, Rose looked down as she clenched both of her fists. Growling with rage, Rose looked up as quickly as she could and grunted as she brought up her fist, swinging it toward Savannah.

In the fraction of a second before Rose's fist smashed into her face, Savannah's eyes widened. As Rose's fist hit her, she grunted as she stumbled back before falling into a sitting position, then falling onto her back as she moaned in pain, holding her nose with both of her hands.

Cherri and Joel both looked down at Savannah as Rose slowly looked down and ran around Savannah, running away from the three dragons. "Rose!" Joel shouted, but before he could take a step, Cherri looked up from Savannah and turned her head to the side.

"Joel, no." Cherri said, making Joel stop in his tracks and turn his head to the side.

"What?" He asked, turning his head to the side.

"Let me handle it..." Cherri said as she returned her head back to normal.

LINE BREAK

In her room, Rose was sitting on her bed with her feet on the ground. As she looked down, her medallion in her hands, she sniffled.

Unbeknownst to Rose, the door to the room creaked as it was pushed open, stepping into the room. Just then, Rose slowly lifted her head, her eyes filled with tears and anger as she threw her medallion toward the door.

"Whoa!" Cherri's eyes widened as she saw the medallion coming toward her. In a bright light, her Verdigris tail appeared and she brought it up, using it to catch the medallion. Cupping her hands together, Cherri dropped the medallion in her hands. She then started to the bed, where Rose was staring at her, anger mixed with tears in her eyes.

"Can I talk to you?" Cherri asked as she stopped in front of Rose.

Sniffling, Rose got to her feet. "I don't see what it'd do." Rose said. "I'm getting out of here. I'll get the Council's help. Then I'll go back and live with my sister again."

"Rose..." Cherri tried as Rose turned around, getting down on her knees as she reached under the bed, pulling out her regular clothes. "...Rose, please..." Cherri tried again as Rose stood back up, dropping her clothes on the bed as she turned back around.

"What?" Rose asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"Savannah didn't mean it." Cherri said, but when Rose gave her a skeptical look, Cherri sighed. "Okay, she did. Just...please don't get mad."

"I have every right." Rose said. "She just said that my sister and husband don't matter!"

"But you know that Savannah only means well..." Cherri said.

"Yeah...right..." Rose pulled her hands away from her hips, starting to turn around, reaching out for her clothes.

"Rose..." Cherri put her hand on her shoulder. Pulling it away as Rose turned back around, putting her hands back on her hips as she frowned. "...Rose, forget Savannah." Cherri said softly. "I'll help you."

"You...You will?" Rose asked, her frown fading.

"Isn't that...what friends are for?" By the time Cherri finished saying this, there was a small smile on her face.

LINE BREAK

Savannah was sitting on her bed in her room with her legs crossed as she held two tissues to her nose. However, as the door to her room creaked as it opened, Cherri walking inside, Savannah removed the bloodied tissues from her nose, and with dried blood still below her nose, she turned her head to the side, seeing Cherri stop at the side of the bed.

"I had no idea that Rose had that in her." Savannah said as she turned her head back to normal, putting the tissues back up to her nose.

"Savannah, you're my best friend..." Cherri said. "...But...you were kind of out of line."

"I kind of figured that after she clocked me..." Savannah said as she lowered the tissues again. "I ticked her off, didn't I?"

"What do you think?" Cherri put her hands on her hips. "She wanted to leave."

"Do you think I can make it better?" Savannah asked as she turned her head to the side. "I don't want her to leave."

"I already promised to help her rescue her sister and husband..." Cherri removed her hands from her hips, dangling them at her side. "...But...you could...possibly apologize to her..."

LINE BREAK

Rose, now wearing her regular clothes, was lying on her back on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. However, as she heard a knock at her door, Rose sat up and slowly turned her head to the side.

LINE BREAK

Pulling her hand away from Rose's door, Savannah sighed as she took a step back, just as the door opened, Rose stepping out, only to frown when she saw Savannah. "It's you..."

"Rose..." Savannah tried, taking a step toward Rose.

"I don't want to talk to you..."

"Rose, please..." Savannah begged, taking a step forward as Rose started to back up, putting her hand on the door, starting to close it. "...Rose, I'm sorry!" Savannah said loudly, clasping her hands together, making Rose freeze, her eyes widening.

"What?" She asked. "What did you say?"

"I'm sorry, Rose." Savannah lowered her hands. "I-I was wrong. I shouldn't have said what I said. I just-"

"You just what?" Rose asked.

"You wouldn't understand, Rose..." Savannah said. "...The fact is that I was a real witch. I should not have said that. I don't want you to leave."

"I'm not going to." Rose said, the tone of anger in her voice slipping. "Cherri is going to help me save them. If you...wanted to come, you could..."

"No, Rose..." Savannah said softly, taking a step back. "...It's not my place. It would be best if I stayed here..."

"Any reason why?"

"Like I said..." Savannah took another step back. "...You wouldn't understand."

"Hmm..." Rose said, taking another step back as she started to close her door.

As Savannah saw the door to Rose's room start to close, her eyes widened. Reaching out for the door, she called out: "Rose!", making Rose stop closing the door and instead start to open it as she took a step forward.

"Yeah?"

"Are we...are we cool?" Savannah asked, lowering her arm, her tone of voice filled with worry.

Rose stared at Savannah, who shifted nervously, for a few seconds before she finally answered: "Yeah. Yeah, we're cool. Apology accepted..."

Hearing this, a smile of relief broke out onto Savannah's face. Chuckling as she pointed at Rose, wagging her finger, she said: "I'll tell you this, though. I may not be going with you, but I'll make sure that you're ready for whatever fight is ahead of you."

LINE BREAK

Back in the alley, Daisy stared at Amias, who was fast asleep, leaning against the wall with his head lowered at his feet. On the other side of the pole, Jake did not keep his eye on the sleeping Acalan, who was sleeping in the same position as Amias.

Instead, Jake grunted as he forced himself forward, struggling against the chains that bound his hands behind his back.

In her position, Daisy blinked, staring off into space as she listened to Jake's grunts as he struggled.

Behind his back, Jake's left hand was almost have way out of the ring of chains. With one more grunt and one more pull, Jake's entire palm was free, leaving just his fingers. With one more pull, the sound of clanging chains could be heard hitting the ground as Jake pulled his now free hands out from behind him, looking at them as a smile crept onto his face.

"Yeah, baby!" Jake exclaimed softly. "About time!"

BLACKOUT; END EPISODE

**A/N: Okay, it's a little short, but I honestly don't care. I'm out of ideas for this episode. I think everything else should go into the next episode. So, hopefully the next episode will be longer. Please review. **


	7. Chapter 7

Future Dragon: Rose Long (Season Three)

Chapter/Episode 7: Councilor Long's Boat Battle

Jake grunted as he pulled against the chains that were binding his ankles. Giving up, he sighed as he hung his head. He then leaned over rolling over with his hands on the ground like he was about to do a pushup. Grunting as he started to crawl toward Daisy, he stopped at her side, turning his head to the side. "Psst. Daisy." He said.

"I can't turn my head to the side..." The twin of his wife told him in a hushed tone. "...I see you're free..."

"Yeah..." Jake told her."...Just hang in there. I'll be right back. I'm going to get help."

"Just hurry up..." Daisy glanced to the side. "...I don't want to wait here just to find out that they plan to execute me tomorrow..."

"Hopefully..." Jake turned his head back to the side. "...I'll be back with the cavalry before morning..." He then turned his head back to normal as he whispered: "Dragon up!"

In a bright light, his human form vanished, and as the light faded, he was in his dragon form. However, immediately, he clenched his teeth as he lifted his head up, his eyes squeezed shut. Opening his eyes, he turned his head to the side to see that the chains binding his ankles had only gotten tighter.

"Aw man..." Jake moaned as he returned his head back to normal. "...This is gonna suck..."

Glancing to the side, Daisy watched as Jake started to flap his wings, taking off into the air. However, Daisy gasped and looked right ahead of her when she heard a gasping sound coming from Amias, who lifted his head up.

"Huh?" He asked, looking from side to side. "What was that?"

Daisy watched with wide and worried eyes as the hobgoblin grunted, getting to his feet. He then walked away from the wall and turned when he was at Daisy's side, his eyes widening as he saw that Jake was missing. "Aw, crap..." Amias muttered as he spun around, seeing Jake flying away in the distance.

Growling with anger, Amias turned back around quickly, his duster blowing with his momentum. Quickly, Amias turned to the side and walked over to where Acalan was sleeping with his head lowered.

"Get up..." Amias growled, kicking Acalan in the gut, making the hobgoblin grunt as he quickly lifted his head, opening his eyes so he could look at Amias.

"What?" He asked.

LINE BREAK

Rose was lying on her stomach on her bed, snoring loudly as her arm was hanging loosely from the side of the bed, her fingers touching the floor as she slept. However, unbeknownst to the sleeping dragon, the door creaked as it opened, Cherri walking into the room in her dragon form, her medallion dangling from around her neck.

LINE BREAK

"Are you sure you're qualified for this?" Savannah asked Joel as they placed a mat on the cleared off dining hall table. Both were in their dragon forms and both of them had their medallions around their necks. After setting it down, Savannah took a deep breath as she took a step back as Joel just stood in place.

"I didn't know you knew how to give massages..." Savannah said, putting her clawed hands on her hips.

"Oh, I don't..." Joel smiled at her.

"Then why did you volunteer to help Rose out?" Asked Savannah, a look of confusion hitting her face after asking this.

"Because..." Joel said, crossing his arms. "...A friend of mine can..." After saying this, he turned to the side, just as Coen, also in his dragon form and with his medallion around his neck.

LINE BREAK

"Rose..." Cherri said softly as she gently put her claws on the back of the sleeping girl. Immediately, Rose's eyes snapped open and she flopped over onto her back, making Cherri jump back in surprise as Rose sat up, slowly turning her head to the side.

"What are you doing?" Rose asked tiredly.

"Today's the day..." Cherri said as she extended her arms out briefly before she lowered them back down to her sides.

"Yeah, we're going to save my husband and sister..." Rose said as she slowly turned her head back to normal. "...But I need to get my sleep if I'm going to be able to fight off those two hobgoblins. There might even be more of them..."

"There probably are..." Cherri said as she started to walk back toward the bed as Rose lied back down on her back. "...But remember..." Cherri said as she looked down at Rose. "...I'm coming with you and Savannah has vowed to not let you leave this city until you can fly at normal speed..."

LINE BREAK

Joel had his eyes on the door as he stared at Savannah, who was standing right outside the door with her back to them, waiting for Cherri to return with Rose.

"Okay, Coen..." Joel said as he turned around to face the Carmine-colored dragon. "...Remember what I told you: You are to actually try to massage her for a few minutes. Get some feeling back into those wings of hers. Then, when she's relaxed, cut her enough to draw some blood. Then, I'll volunteer to clean it up, while you get off by making it look like an accident."

Coen nodded and Joel turned back around, just in time to see Savannah entering the room, soon followed by a human Rose and a dragon Cherri.

"Alright, Rose..." Savannah said, stopping to the side of Joel and turning around to show the older woman her smile. "...Get on the table and Coen will present you with the most relaxing minutes of your life..."

LINE BREAK

Grunting, Drystan climbed out of the manhole and stood up on his feet. Immediately, he saw the pipe and saw that there was only one prisoner chained to it. His eyes wide, Drystan turned his head toward the opposite wall of the alley, finding that both Amias and Acalan were both gone.

Slowly turning around, Drystan looked down into the hole. "Wynne!" He shouted down into it.

After a few seconds, he finally heard a response: "What?"

"You better get up here!" Drystan responded. The hobgoblin waited a few more seconds, but once he heard a grunt coming from the female hobgoblin, he took a step back, just in time from Wynne's hands to grab hold of the rim of the manhole. A split second later, he could hear her grunting as she climbed up, getting her footing on the ground as she stood up.

"What is it?" She asked, putting her hands on her hips. "It better be important..."

"Take a look for yourself..." Drystan said as he stepped to the side, allowing Wynne to see that Jake was gone, leaving Wynne's eyes to widen. "..."Not only that..." Drystan said as he turned his head to the side to look at Wynne: "...But where are Amias and Acalan?"

LINE BREAK

Now in her dragon form, Rose was lying on her stomach on the mat on the table. Coen was standing at her side, the side of his hands coming down on her back repeatedly, making Rose moan and grunt, while Cherri and Savannah stood side-by-side on the other end of the table, watching as Coen started to rub her back.

"Uh, Coen..." Savannah pointed out, lifting up her clawed index finger, making Coen look up and stop massaging Rose's back. "...You're supposed to be working on her wings..." Savannah told him as she lowered her hand and arm.

"I know." Coen said.

"He's just relieving Rose of her tension." Joel said. Just as he said this, Coen took Rose's right wing and started to pull it, stretching it out. "See, now he's working on her wings?" Joel smiled as Rose grunted, her eyes opening.

Joel glanced to the side, still smiling as he saw Coen using Rose's held wing to hide the fact that he was inching toward her side with his claws, getting closer and closer with each passing second.

BLACKOUT; COMMERCIAL

BACK TO THE STORY/SHOW

Coen's claws were almost at Rose's side. However, Coen froze and quickly pulled his claws back as Rose turned to the side, pulling her wing away from Coen's grip. Savannah and Cherri and Joel and Coen both watched with shocked expressions on their faces as Rose quickly pushed herself onto her knees.

"Something wrong?" Coen asked.

"I don't like you pulling my wing like that..." Rose said, slowly turning her head to look at Coen. Then, she slowly turned her head to the other side. "...Can we try something else?"

"Like what?" Savannah asked.

LINE BREAK

As it was later in the morning, the sunlight was much brighter. Jake grunted as he continued to flap his wings, flying high in the air. Looking up, Jake could see that he was nearing the harbor.

LINE BREAK

With growls, both Acalan and Amias jumped onto the roof of one of the buildings. Amias was holding his club while Acalan held onto his butterfly knife. "Any sign of him?" Acalan asked as he took a few steps away from the ledge, while Amias looked up into the air, seeing Jake far off into the distance.

"I still see him..." Amias said as he lowered his head, Acalan turning around to face his fellow hobgoblin.

"You think we'll still be able to catch up with him?" He asked.

"I think so..." Amias grinned. "...After all, he's probably in discomfort. It should show him down..."

LINE BREAK

Grunting, Wynne landed in the shallow waters of the sewer. Turning to the side, she could see Brytt lying on his back next to his bundled up father. With an unreadable look on her face, Wynne started to walk toward the two sleeping hobgoblins.

As soon as she reached him, she crouched down and cupped her hands as she dipped them into the water. Pulling her hands up, she threw the water out, the water making a splash as it hit Brytt in the face.

Immediately, the hobgoblin opened his eyes and quickly sat up. "What?" He asked as he stared at Wynne.

"One of the prisoners escaped." Wynne said. "Acalan and Amias are also gone."

Slowly getting to his feet, Brytt just stared at Wynne for a few seconds with an unreadable look on his face. However, he was forced to look to the side when he started to hear the sound of wretched coughing. Looking down, Brytt could see his father coughing violently, blood coming from his mouth.

"Father..." Brytt's eyes widened as he turned to the side, kneeling down to the coughing hobgoblin's side as more blood came from his mouth. As Wynne knelt down next to Brytt, Brytt turned his head to the side as his father stopped his coughing.

"I don't think he has too much time left..." Wynne said.

"I know." Brytt said. "And that is why I don't care about an escaped prisoner..."

"It'll cause problems for us!"

"Then why don't you deal with it?" Brytt asked as he turned his head back to normal. "I should be giving orders, right?" He asked as he looked back down at his father, whose eyes were now closed.

"Where are you going with this?" Wynne asked.

"I want you to deal with this..." Brytt said as he looked up and turned his head to the side again. "...I'm giving you an order, Wynne. I want you to deal with the escaped prisoner. I'm busy..." As he finished, he turned his head back to normal and looked down.

LINE BREAK

"Okay, I've got an idea..." Cherri was standing in her human form beside an also human Savannah. Cherri's hands were behind her back as she spoke to Rose, who was in her human form, who was wearing her red, plain jersey and her running shorts, only with her wings sticking out of her back.

"...Maybe you can get the strength back into your wings the same way you got them back into your legs..." Cherri said.

"By running?" Rose asked.

"No." Cherri said as she brought her hands to her sides. "By flapping your wings as you run."

LINE BREAK

Savannah and Cherri were both standing in the corner of the room as they watched Rose pant as she ran around the room, flapping her wings with as much force as she could.

"Do you think this will help her?" Savannah asked as she turned her head to the side.

"I hope so..." Cherri replied quietly.

Both dragons then turned their heads back to normal and continued to watch Rose, who was just passing by them, giving her wings a big flap as she turned and started to run down the room. still panting as she managed to give her wings a mighty flap.

"How much longer are you going to keep this up for?" Savannah asked as she turned her head back to the side.

"You're my superior, Savannah..." Cherri answered without turning her head to the side, only keeping her eyes on Rose, as she turned the corner and started to run across the opposite side of the room. "...You can always tell me to have her stop right now."

"But this could actually work..." Savannah said as she turned her head back to normal.

"Then if it's okay by you..." Cherri said, watching Rose running toward them, still giving her wings mighty flaps. "...I think I'll wait a little bit longer..."

By this time, Rose had reached them and had turned the corner, starting to run pass them, all while panting and still flapping her wings.

LINE BREAK

Drystan was standing over Daisy, who just stared back at the hobgoblin with worry-filled eyes. Unbeknownst to either of them, Wynne had gotten out of the sewers and was now setting down the lid to the manhole. Standing straight back up, Wynne started to walk toward her fellow hobgoblin and the lasting prisoner.

As he heard Wynne's footsteps, Drystan slowly turned around to face her, just in time for Wynne to stop in front of him. "What did he say?" Drystan asked.

Wynne was silent for a few seconds as she frowned. Then, she finally answered: "It's all up to us..."

LINE BREAK

Rose was running toward Savannah and Cherri, still panting and still trying her best to flap her wings with as much might as she could bring. Suddenly, Cherri stepped forward and turned around just as Rose turned the corner, making her slow and then stop as she neared Cherri.

"Okay, I think that's enough..." Cherri said, smiling slightly. "...How about we go on outside and test your hopeful new-found wing strength?"

LINE BREAK

Out of the room, standing on the grass amidst a few mermaids, Rose stood in full dragon form, Cherri and Savannah standing in front of her. Smiling cockily, Rose flared her wings. "Now let's see those puppies in action..." Savannah said.

Still smiling, Rose grunted as she started to flap her wings. At first her flapping was slow, putting nervous looks on the faces of both of their faces. However, after a few seconds, Rose's flapping became more rapid and quicker, allowing her to lift into the air, looking down at Cherri and Savannah, who both smiled as they looked up at her.

"She's back..." Savannah said.

LINE BREAK

Panting heavily as he had his teeth clenched, Jake looked down as he began to reach the harbor, finding that there was a building several feet below him. Quickly swooping down, as Jake touched down on the roof, he landed in a sitting position.

As soon as Jake regained his breath, he looked down, staring down at his still chained feet as he gritted his teeth and growled.

Unbeknownst to him, however, both Acalan and Amias grunted as they pulled themselves up onto their feet on the side of the building after climbing up from the side, quickly spotting Jake, who was completely oblivious to the two hobgoblins as he grunted, pulling at the chains around his ankles.

"Found him..." A grin crossed Acalan's face.

"Let's get him..." Amias stated, lifting back part of his duster with his hand as he reached in and pulled out his club as Acalan held his hand out to the side, allowing his companion hobgoblin to reach into his duster, pulling out the butterfly knife.

Grinning as Amias handed it to him, the two waited until Jake pushed himself up onto his still chained feet. Then, in complete unison, both Amias and Acalan started to charge toward the unsuspecting red dragon...

BLACKOUT; COMMERCIAL BREAK

BACK TO THE STORY/SHOW

Jake quickly flared his wings as he prepared to take off. However, before he could start flapping his wings, he lowered them as his eyes widened, hearing the sound of heavy footsteps. "Huh?" Jake asked himself before he turned his head to the side, gasping as he saw Acalan and Amias nearing him.

Jumping up, Jake managed to turn around completely, facing the charging hobgoblins. "Dang, yo..." Jake said before he opened his mouth and blew out a torrent of fire. However, Amias and Acalan both ran to their respective sides, avoiding the flames, allowing them to jump up, flying toward Jake.

Jake grunted as Acalan and Amias both smacked into him, throwing him off his chained feet and into the air, flying back toward the edge of the building.

Going over it, the three magical creatures continued to fly back, starting to fall toward a docked ocean liner.

With a grunt, Jake's back collided with the wooden floorboards of the deck with such force that the boards cracked open, forming a hole that Jake fell into. As Jake fell down, both Amias and Acalan held onto their respective weapons as they jumped off of Jake, who grunted as his back collided with the floor, reverting to human form immediately.

Meanwhile, Acalan dug his butterfly knife into the wall and slid down it, pulling his knife out of the wall as he touched the floor. Turning to the side, Acalan grinned as Amias grunted as he hit the floor, looking down at Jake's human form; Jake staring back up at him with a look of anger.

"This will be much easier than I thought..." Amias said as he started to raise his club, Acalan walking up to his side from behind, twirling his butterfly knife in his hands. "...In fact..." Now holding his club way over his head, Amias continued to look down on Jake. "...It's going to end...right no-WHOA!"

However, at that moment, Acalan was forced to lower his club and step away as Jake transformed into his red dragon form in a bright blue light, allowing Jake to fly into the air as the blue light faded below him.

"You're not going anywhere..." Amias growled, and with a grunt, he jumped up into the air and grabbed onto Jake's tail, pulling his down and Jake tried to fly up to the hole in the ceiling, making Jake yelp as he started to fall.

However, Jake quickly started to flap his wings as he fell, preventing him from hitting the floor. On the ground, Acalan watched as Jake continued to flap his wings, also swinging his tail back and forth, the speed increasing each time until Amias' grip slipped, sending the hobgoblin flying back as he dropped his club.

Acalan turned his head to the side as Amias grunted, his back colliding with the wall. However, Acalan was forced to turn his attention back to what was in front of him as he heard a clang, Amias' club hitting the floor.

However, as he heard the sound of flapping wings, he looked up to see Jake flying up to the hole in the ceiling again. "Come ON!" Acalan once again turned his head to the side as he heard the sound of Amias' voice.

With a grunt, Amias jumped into the air and flew toward Jake's tail, which was the only part that was still visible of Jake's body after going out the hole. Amias swung around it, keeping his grip on it as Acalan grunted as he jumped up as well, grabbing hold of Jake's tail with one hand while his other held his butterfly knife.

Up and outside, Jake gave his wings another flap, only to gasp as he started to feel himself be pulled down. Turning himself around, Jake quickly dug his claws into the wood of the deck, but his claws failed him; falling back into the hall, Jake yelped as his claws dragged against the wood, finally retracting. Seconds later, Jake grunted as he made contact with the floor, which someone would have been able to hear if they had been walking along the deck.

Back inside the ship, Jake was lying on his belly. The red dragon lifted his head up to look at Amias, only to have Amias lift his foot up, swinging it into Jake's face, making Jake grunt as he jerked his head back, allowing Acalan to grab Jake's head with one of his hands; as he knelt down, Acalan grinned as he put the blade of his butterfly knife against Jake's throat.

"I say we slay him now..." Amias said.

Acalan just stared at Amias for a few seconds, his grin fading as he turned his head to the side to look at Jake, who teeth were gritted as the hobgoblin held his hair. Turning his head back to normal, Acalan nodded once.

"You're right." He said. "Brytt will understand. I refuse to drag this dragon all the way back..."

"Exactly..." Amias grinned cruelly. "...Do it!"

Jake's eyes widened as he felt the blade of the butterfly knife getting closer to his throat, actually cutting into it. Acting quickly, Jake curled his tail back and wrapped it around Acalan's ankle; before the grinning hobgoblin could slide the blade across Jake's neck, he yelped as he was flipped upside down as Jake flapped his wings, flying into the air. As Amias watched with wide eyes, Jake threw Acalan back, where the hobgoblin shouted until he hit the wall, falling back to the ground with a grunt.

Growling with anger, Amias lunged toward Jake, but Jake looked down and blew a torrent of fire out of his mouth, which hit Amias, making him growl as he flew back.

Quickly, Jake looked up and flapped his wings, flying up and out of the hole, just as Amias got back up to his feet, growling as he looked up at the hole. He then looked back down when he heard groaning, seeing Acalan slowly getting to his feet.

"Come on..." Amias growled, walking over to where his club was on the ground. As Acalan kneeled down to pick up his butterfly knife, Amias leaned over and picked up his club. As he straightened back up, he looked at his fellow hobgoblin. "...We've got a dragon to catch..." He said.

LINE BREAK

Both Acalan and Amias jumped out of the hole in the deck and landed on their feet. Not seeing Jake in the direction that they were faced in, the two turned around, looking down the stern, where they could see an anchor hanging from a chain.

"Come on..." Amias said, turning his head to the side to look at Acalan. He then turned his head back to normal, and still holding his club, jumped over the hole, starting to walk down the deck as Acalan jumped as well, quickly running up and rejoining his fellow hobgoblin.

As the two hobgoblins reached the anchor, the two were completely unaware that up above them, Jake was lying down on his belly, looking down on them with a scowl on his face, his eyes narrowed.

With a mighty flap of his wings, Jake flew into the air; still looking down, Jake opened his mouth and blew out a torrent of fire. Then, closing his mouth, he dived down, heading down on the two hobgoblins.

LINE BREAK

Back in the dining hall at Mermaid City, Rose was standing in her human form in front of a dragon Cherri, who was simply smiling at her. "What now?" Rose asked.

"For the most part..." Cherri said as she crossed her scaly arms. "...You're body is pretty much back to the way it was before."

"You mean before Fred Nerk's dragon chi got transferred into my body..." Rose pointed out.

"Well, what matters is that you're feeling better..." Cherri said as she lowered her scaly arms to her side, taking a step closer to Rose. "...As for what I plan to have you do, I'm about to tell you. The only part of your body that has yet to be 'fixed'..." She brought up her claws and made air-quotes. Lowering her arms again, she continued: "...Is your neck."

"Yeah, but I don't think that's as important as my arms, legs or wings..." Rose said as she took a step back. "...And you're forgetting about my tail..." She added as she put her hands on her hips.

For a moment, Rose thought she could see a glimpse of worry in Cherri expression. However, the look vanished in the blink of an eye, and Cherri copied Rose's move of putting her hands on her hips. "Savannah can help you with that." Then she paused, waiting for Rose, whose mouth was agape, to say something. However, when Rose didn't say anything, Cherri opened her mouth again, dropping her arms to her side: "Here's my idea, Rose: I'm going to swing my tail back and forth..."

"What good is that going to do?" Rose asked, crossing her arms.

"I'm about to tell you." Cherri said. "You are to follow my tail as quickly as you can. Hopefully, it'll get some strength back into your neck."

"Or I'll completely screw it up..." Rose lowered her arms to her side.

"Just trust me on this, Rose..." Cherri said. "...It could work." As she said this, she lifted up her tail. "Please just trust me..."

Looking at the tail for a few seconds, Rose finally sighed and stared at Cherri. "Let's do it..." She said.

Smiling at Rose, Cherri nodded before she finally grunted as she swung her tail to the side...

LINE BREAK

Grunting, Wynne climbed up onto her feet after climbing up the wall of a building. Looking out in front of her, the female hobgoblin could see the harbor right in front of her, an ocean liner docked.

However, a grunt from below her made Wynne turn her head to the side, looking down to see Drystan struggling to climb up as he held onto the side of the roof. Looking up at her, he asked: "A little help here?"

Rolling her eyes, Wynne turned around and lowered her hand, allowing Drystan to reach up and take it.

LINE BREAK

Back on the boat, Jake fought with Acalan and Amias. Jake was hovering in the air, facing Amias while Acalan was facing Jake's back. Amias swung his club at Jake with a growl, but Jake used the back of his hand to smack it back away.

From behind, Acalan jumped a few feet and tried to slash at Jake's back with his butterfly knife. However, Jake moved forward, making it so that the blade missed him. Instead, Jake brought his tail up and jabbed the tip of it into the armor that Acalan wore.

With the force of the hit, Acalan dropped his knife as he stumbled back over to the ledge of the ship. He started to teeter on the edge, flailing his arms around in circles as his eyes widened and his jaw dropped. However, he quickly lost his balance; with a shout of "WHOAAA!", the hobgoblin tipped over and fell headfirst into the water, making a loud splash.

Meanwhile, Amias still battled Jake. With a grunt, the remaining hobgoblin jumped into the air as he raised his club above his head, hoping to slam it over Jake's head.

However, Jake reacted quickly and flipped backwards in the air, landing right by the ledge, his tail going over the ledge and sliding to the side with enough force to slice through the chain that held the anchor, causing it to fall toward the water, just as Acalan surfaced; looking up, Acalan's eyes widened and he opened his mouth, only to have no scream come out. Instead he raised his arms and put his hands over his face, just as the anchor came down on the hobgoblin, causing a large splash and currents. However, the currents quickly subsided as the anchor sank, dragging the extended arms of Acalan below the surface.

Back on the ship deck, Jake held both of his arms out extended at his side as he tried to balance on his chained feet. As he tried to balance, he could see Amias kneel down in front of Acalan's fallen butterfly knife.

Picking it up, Amias held it in his hand, looking down on it before he quickly looked up at Jake with a look of homicidal anger on his face.

"You're going to pay..." He growled right before he quickly stood back up and threw the butterfly knife at Jake.

Jake's eyes widened as he saw the knife coming toward him. He quickly flapped his wings and flew into the air, but the butterfly knife struck him in his left foot as he flew up. Roaring in pain, Jake stopped flapping his wings and he fell back onto the deck on his knees, hunching over as he used his hands to support himself.

Holding his club, Amias walked over to Jake and as soon as the hobgoblin reached him, he took the club in both of his hands and raised it above his head, preparing to bash the back of Jake's head in with it.

However, before he could bring it down, he froze as he heard the sound of Wynne's voice: "I wouldn't do that, Amias!"

Quickly turning around, Amias looked up to see Wynne standing on the roof of the room of the ship, her hands on her hips as Drystan stood to her right.

"Well, I'm doin' it!" Amias shouted up at them. "I am not dragging him back to our alley!"

Wynne just stared down at her fellow hobgoblin for a few seconds with a frown on her face before she finally jumped down onto the deck, landing just a few inches away from Amias. "We're keeping both prisoners alive until we can decide of how to dispose of him properly."

"This is what I call proper!"

"Besides..." Wynne ignored Amias' last statement. "...You won't have to drag him all the way back. At least...not alone..."

LINE BREAK

Back in the dining hall, Cherri had sweat running down her forehead as she continued to swing her tail back and forth, Rose turning her head to the side as quickly as she could to watch the tail fly by.

Seeing that Rose was moving her head back and forth at a much quicker pace, Cherri quickly stopped; just as quickly, she started to throw her tail up and then back down, doing that just as fast as she had done before when she was throwing it from side to side.

At first, Rose took a step back with a look of surprise on her face. However, she quickly recovered from her surprise and slowly started to lift her head up as Cherri brought her tail up.

LINE BREAK

In her dragon form, Savannah walked toward the dining hall. As soon as she reached the door, she reached out and grabbed the knob, turning it and pushing the door open, stepping inside to see Cherri pulling her tail away from Rose.

"Okay..." Cherri said as she crossed her scaly arms. "...Move your neck. Let's see if my tail helped."

Without saying a word, Rose slowly started to turn her head to the side. However, upon finding that it was much easier to move her neck, Rose quickly turned it in the other direction and then turned it back to normal just as quickly.

Blinking in surprise, Rose quickly lifted her head up and then lowered it, staring at Cherri, who slowly started to smile. "It worked, didn't it?" Cherri asked.

"Yeah..." Rose said slowly. "...It worked..."

BLACKOUT; END EPISODE

**A/N: Please review. **


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